After a long time of tossing and turning, the lightning and the rain ticking on the roof outside finally did it. Laska sat straight up in bed, ran a hand through her dark hair to keep it from falling in her eyes and glanced through Rose's bedroom window at the terrible tropical storm outside.

"Laska?" Rose asked groggily as Laska's sudden movement awakened her. "What's the matter? Can't you sleep?"

"Sorry, I..." Laska said, then sighed... "It's nothing, I..."

"I noticed your thoughts weren't with me this evening," Rose smiled, her words not meant as an accusation, but spoken out of concern.

"It's what Firkraag said to me before we chopped him to bits..." Laska sighed. "I can't get it out of my mind... Did my mother leave me because I was impure? Or was it another one of his games?"

Rose smiled and hugged her lover from behind, holding both arms around Laska's waist while pressing her cheek against the elf's tattooed shoulder. Laska felt Rose's warmth against her, and found it extremely comforting. "Have I ever told you about my mother, Laska?" Rose asked. "I never knew my father but my mother and I had a happy life... She never thought I was just a 'mere half-breed' like all the other humans did. She sang to me... gave me everything I wanted. She was my best friend... That's why I was so distraught when she died..."

"I'm... almost afraid to use that sensory stone..." Laska said. "I never had an image of my mother. I never even had need for a mother-figure, and I'm fine with that... Or at least I was. Dammit, why couldn't that overgrown lizard kept his big mouth shut!!" she sighed in frustration.

At that point Rose let go of Laska, much to the tattooed elf's dismay, and slid out of bed. Without a word she headed toward the table while Laska was still sitting in bed with her back turned to the half-elf. When Rose sat back down on the bed, she handed Laska the small sensory stone, its light shining in the darkness of the room.

"Here," Rose smiled and resumed carressing her lover's shoulders. "Use it... Don't beat yourself over the head and postpone. I think you need to see what's recorded on his sensory-stone."

In her heart, Laska knew Rose was right. The tattooed elf knew she would not be able to forget about this. Fear gripping at her heart, Laska took the stone in her lap and pressed both her hands on the glowing rock. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, a strange light shot from the stone, apparently having identified Laska as the recipient of the message stored within. Instantly, everything in the room faded.

Gorion smiled at the moon-elven woman sitting across him. They were sitting in Leilani Leafwalker's comfortable home, high up in the green forests of Silverymoon, the city that was home to many elves. Her house was small, but large enough for the moon elven archmage. It contained a small lab for her experiments, a small bedroom, a small living space and a huge library in comparison. Some elves thought this small abode was unworthy of a mage of her power and fame. In fact, Lady Alustriel herself had approached Leilani with the offering of a house more suitable for a mage of her esteemed family line, but she had politely refused, being more than happy with her own little tree-house.

Leilani Leafwalker, a mage of incredible power, lounged backward in her chair, a playful smile ever crossing her grey-skinned face. "That was until I impressed you with my tree-climbing skills..." Gorion said, continuing their conversation

"Tree-climbing skills, you say?" Leilani smiled. "As I remember it," she grinned, "you fell down and broke both your legs..."

"But you were impressed, weren't you?" the middle aged man smiled as Leilani's faithful terracotta golem butler poured them a new cup of Elm tea.

"I was impressed you were able to stay conscious long enough to ask me one more time to accept you as my apprentice..." Leilani smiled as she drank her tea. "Thank you," she told her butler. "Could you please gather some green mistletoe for me and put them in my study?" The golem nodded and headed out the door.

"A spell?" Gorion asked.

"I like the smell," Leilani grinned in return. "Just put it in a little hot water and let it steam."

"Anyway, you did offer to apprentice me then, did you not? Even though it was widely known you'd never apprentice another again after what happened in Suldenesselar." Gorion smiled, his eyes sparkling.

"Well, I thought you were going to die of your injuries anyway, so I wanted to be nice..." Leilani joked.

"Seriously," Gorion smiled. "What did happen in Suldenesselar?"

"Gorion," Leilani sighed, but remained more than jovial, "you've been trying to pry that story out of me for the last twenty years, and I still haven't answered. Your tenacity is astounding, even for a human..."

"It's my tenacity which got me an apprenticeship under the legendary Leilani Leafwalker, eldest living member of the Leafwalker family, mistress of magic, keeper of the sacred chalice of Sehahine Moonbow..." Gorion said, a gentle humor sparkling in his eyes.

"Oh, please!" Leilani smiled. "The sacred chalice is a moldy old pewter cup, which Sehahine Moonbow wouldn't even admit to owning! I'm using it as a paperweight and quill-holder..." Leilani shook her head. Truly, she did not understand the respect the mere mention of the name Leafwalker instilled. All of the Leafwalker women had been blessed with an immense magical aptitude, the leaving the male practitioners of their family far behind them. Her lineage went all the way back to before the Elfwar, where the Drow succeded from their noble race, and it was even said her ancestry reached as far back as the Forming, the very blood of the elven pantheons giving birth of her eldest ancestor. Leilani's mother has been the fabled Fey'Lasquillariq'uaiea Leafwalker, Fey for short. She had been the principal wizard of Myth Drannor during its heyday, and it was said that she had passed to Arvandor being carried in the arms of Sehahine Moonbow herself. But these were nothing special to Leilani... To her, family was the most important.

Indeed, Gorion had been her last apprentice, a quick learner, an eager mind, a kind heart.

"So," Gorion spoke as he rose. "It was wonderful seeing you again, Leilani, I'm sorry I have to cut our visit short, but my party is waiting for me to come back with the potion. We still need to blow a nasty conspiracy out of the water."

"You always had problems with divination magics, Gorion. The images in the scrying bowl were always blurring... Let me guess," Leilani smiled. "Harper business, ey?" She knew very well what that meant. She herself had actually beaten the Harpers to the lair of an upstart Red Dragon. 'Imagine that,' Leilani thought to herself. 'A red upstart like that simply walking into a village and demanding ten elven maidens to walk into his lair to be eaten. Heh, one cold spell and he left off before I could kill him... Coward...'. She also quite enjoyed the look on the Harpers' faces when they saw that the dragon they were supposed to trick into leaving the valley was flying off with his tail between his legs. One of the Harpers was a young mage known as Gorion... and he had been pestering her to become her apprentice ever since.

"I know you've never liked them," Gorion nodded. "But they do good work..."

"Hmmm," Leilani snorted. Gorion knew well where her dislike for Harpers came from. A botched up Harper assignment, or 'meddle-mission' as Leilani called them, had led to the extermination of an elven village in Tethyr, her sister being one of the victims in a slaughter which was a dark page in Harper history. "I suppose you can only tell me, but you would have to kill me afterwards?"

"I'll trade you a secret for a secret..." Gorion smiled gently.

"Not a chance," Leilani smiled, briefly hugging her former apprentice before saying their farewells. Creating a Potion of Revelation had been very easy, and she had fun catching up with her old friend. Glancing out of the window, she noticed the storm she had felt brewing all day was finally breaking through. Chuckling of a mental image of Gorion cursing that he had just stepped into heavy rainfall, she decided to curl up next to the warm fire with a book and a glass of fine Evermead.

She sat there for an hour, listening to the raindrops falling on her room while reading her book. Suddenly, she heard the front door of her house fly open. For a moment, she thought her Terracotta butler had returned with the mistletoe, but she knew he would not just throw open the door.

Instead, she found a strange elf standing in the doorway. Leilani thought she had met everyone in the city, but she had never seen this male before. Then, the lighting flashed through the room, making Leilani gasp in horror as she saw the dead eyes of the elven male.

"You have power... you have been chosen," the male spoke in a grave voice.

Leilani tried to cast her defensive magics, but something unknown seemed to had stolen her powers... Without her magicks, she could not defend herself...

Laska gasped as she released the stone.

"What is it?" Rose asked, a little concerned.

Laska noticed that Rose was gently stroking across the pointed tips of both her ears. Rose knew that Laska liked that very much, and the half-elf was now doing so in the hopes of comforting her lover. "It was unpleasant... But the message isn't over..." she said and once again placed her hands on the stone.

"If only I had stayed," Gorion said, guilt clearly visible in his eyes.

"You would have ended up as a bloody smear on the wall," Leilani said. "Don't beat yourself up over it..."

It had been six months since that night, and three months ago since Leilani found out she was with child. At the moment, she was starting to feel the weight of her pregnancy, and delegated more and more tasks to her trusted Terracotta golem.

"Whoever entered my home had enough power to cancel out my magical powers," Leilani said while she took on a more comfortable position in her chair. "Somehow, he cancelled out all magical effects in my house. In a sense, no magic could exist there... Now, I've tried every kind of divination-spell I know, but I have yet to find out anything about this mystery-male."

"I know," Gorion sighed. "I know something more..."

"What?" Leilani asked with anticipation.

"Only that," Gorion sighed as he sat down, a grim expression on his face, "you're definitely not the first person this has happened too. This has been going on for years... A dark male with dead eyes, of the race of the female his chooses to assault, appears out of nowhere and forces himself on his target. There's no way to know for sure, but apparently this has been going on for over a decade now... Minor targets, mostly commoners. You are the first truly powerful person this has happened too..."

"Lucky me," Leilani shook her head.

"Don't be so light about it," Gorion said. "For some reason, these 'encounters' always produces off-spring..."

Leilani smiled and let her hand slide over her belly. "I've told you before... I'm keeping the baby. I have been getting on in years, so having a third child will be a delight. Besides, the baby is an innocent in all this..."

Gorion leant back in his chair. "I've heard you are leaving Silverymoon..."

"Sweet Corellon," Leilani sighed. "What kind of sources do you have in that Harper organization of yours? I've only been offered the positions yesterday!"

"Don't blame the Harpers," Gorion chuckled. "The elves of Silverymoon are chatterboxes..."

"Figures," Leilani chuckled herself. "Well, bless my ears," Leilani smiled, "but I've been offered a dual position, really. Ever since Zoar has been killed on Evermeet, Queen Amlaruil needs all the help she can get, so I was offered to take place in the Council of Wise Matrons to advise her. Also, in this position, I can receive training to become a High Mage... And for that I HAVE to go to Evermeet."

"Do Syrayah and Brekthiel know?" Gorion asked.

"They know what has happened to me... and they know I am to leave for Evermeet," Leilani nodded, tossing her dark mane from her eyes. "Syrayah is ecstatic about the news of a coming brother or sister, and is coming home soon. Brekthiel is less enthusiastic about the whole thing, but both of them will come to Evermeet with me..."

Gorion sighed. He wished he could be able to stay longer, but another mission for the harpers wouldn't allow him to. Instead, he wished her luck, and, with pain in his heart, left his teacher and friend alone for the second time.

Leilani smiled radiantly as she was lovingly feeding her baby girl. Little Fey'Lasquillariq'uaiea's Celebration of Birth was still going strongly and elves from all over the Realms were drawn to this celebration. An elven birth was rare enough, but many travelled long to see the newest addition to the Leafwalker family. Prominent elves were compelled to give the child their well-wishes and wish-gifts.

"Awww, she looks just like you, mother!" Syrayah Leafwalker, her oldest child said as she was cooing over the nursing baby. "Hi there! Aren't you cute?" Syrayah smiled. "Yes, you are! Yes, you are!"

"Oh, PLEASE!" Brekthiel, Leilani's son, snarled as he leant against the wall. "Trust an impure elf to coo over another impure elf..." Leilani narrowed her eyes a bit, but knew her son was a typical conservative elf : So narrow-minded he could look through a keyhole with both eyes.

"Fifty years apart from you wasn't long enough," Syrayah snarled at her half-brother, for all three grey-skinned moon elven children in the room had different fathers.

"Oh, who has ever heard of a moon elf with red hair, sister?" the raven-haired Brekthiel shot back. "No doubt your bloodline's got a little human in the closet..."

"I happen to like my hair!" Syrayah snarled and whipped her fiery mane towards her brother.

"Will you two stop it?" Leilani shot. "I don't want Fey'Lasquillariq'uaiea's first memories of life to be two squabbling siblings."

"Sorry, mother," Syrayah nodded.

In the meantime, Leilani took her baby from her breast, but was immediately met with loud protests from her child.

"Looks like she wants more milk," Syrayah smiled.

"Certainly," Brekthiel chuckled, but his hand swept a bit too close to the baby. "Ouch!" he shouted, drawing back his hand. "That child just attacked me!"

"How can she?!" Leilani shot her son a poisonous glare. "She's barely a day old!"

"I'm telling you, she pinched me!" he directed at the seemingly smiling and burbling baby girl.

"In that case she's an excellent judge of character," Syrayah chuckled.

"Laugh all you like!" Brekthiel retorted. "Fact of the matter is that this child is an impure elf..."

"Will you shut up?!" Syrayah snarled. "Not here... Not now!"

"Our little sister is the result of an unnatural joining! She doesn't even FEEL natural!" Brekthiel snarled.

"Please DON'T bring that up again," Leilani said, never wanting to think back to that horrible night again.

"But we cannot take her to Evermeet!" he tried. "You know how strict their rules are. This baby is an unnatural thing. They'll never let her in."

"What they don't know won't hurt them," Leilani smiled.

"I'd know!" Brekthiel nodded. "And so do the guards on the ship..."

"You told them, didn't you?!" Syrayah snarled. "You monster!"

"She's MY CHILD!" Leilani snarled. "My baby! I carried her for two years! I hold her in my arms."

"Silverymoon will care for her..." Brekthiel spoke with disgust. "These fools would accept even half-breeds in their midst."

"I will not go to Evermeet without my child," Leilani promised.

"I am your child too!" Brekthiel snarled. "And how can you not go to Evermeet! Our people need you! I need you!"

"To sponsor your application to the position of one of the court wizards?" Syrayah retorted. "You're so predictable..."

"Mother," the haughty elf nodded. "You are to assume a place of the Council of Wise Matrons, to receive a training as a High Mage! The greatest honors our people can bestow! Surely you will not give that up for that, that... that THING!"

"MY CHILD!" Leilani retorted, while her baby was lying calmly in her arms.

"Sure, sure," Brekthiel sighed, suffering from the same thing most Leafwalker males experienced : Envy. "Magic comes so easy for you two. Syrayah, you are a sorceress and mother, for what you can conjure up in mere seconds, I need days! You OWE me! And what do you do? You even name that... thing after our most noble grandmother. She would be horrified!"

Leilani knew exactly what was going on... Magic was a blessing for the Leafwalker females, but a curse to the Leafwalker males. Males in their family line actually had a lot more trouble developing their mage-skills. And male Leafwalker mages would always stay in the shadows of the females... Brekthiel was jealous... Thinking back, Leilani was happy that Syrayah's son Alris was seeking another profession than a mage, like some Leafwalker males did by default.

"You couldn't be more wrong. You never knew my mother, so do not presume to speak for her! I am NOT going to Evermeet, and that is FINAL!" Leilani snarled, and stalked out of the room, feeling the climate was not to her liking anymore.

Putting her baby in the little crib, she still heard her other two children arguing in the other room. Sighing, she sat back in the chair next to the crib.

"Did you hear them?" Leilani said to a figure in the shadows. Immediately, the 'Shadow-shield', a spell of Leilani's making given to Gorion as a gift for his graduation, dissipated. The middle-aged man stood there, strolled over to the crib and gentle tickled the baby girl under her chin.

"She's beautiful, Leilani," Gorion smiled. "Just look at those little pointed ears..." But almost immediately, he grew grim again as he stepped away from the crib.

"Are the rumors true?" Leilani said, her face not betraying any emotions.

"What happened to you is happening all across the Realms now. Powerful females are being assaulted, and the off-spring that were born from these foul unions were numbered high already," Gorion said grimly. "We still have no idea why this is happening, nor who is behind it... We only that it means ill for the future. Your child... you must hide her!" Gorion said, his voice taking on a more desperate edge.

"Gorion," Leilani said firmly. "NO! I will not! This is my child!"

"I... I... wasn't going to tell you this," Gorion sighed. "I really didn't want to, but... I had a dream last night. I... was approached by a Solar with eyes and hair of fire. She led me to... a dark layer of the Abyss. There, a woman sat on a throne of skulls. She was large and bore the markings of a traitor-priestess. At the foot of her throne stood six figures. Five I could not recognize, nor even see... The sixth figure was a moon-elf with vile and unholy tattoos covering her entire body, her face locked in a feral and bloodthirsty snarl. I was suddenly on the surface and found the Sword Coast turned into a gigantic battlefield. The soil was drenched in blood. Then, the Solar came to me again, and told me that all of this can be avoided... If your child is hidden from sight long enough...

"What are you saying?!" Leilani cried, looking read to break out in tears.

"If you take her with you," Gorion said, glancing at the baby, "Evermeet will burn..."

But Leilani Leafwalker did end up going to Evermeet. After a full month of lobbying on the side of powerful and important elves, most notably Ellesime, the young arrogant Queen of Suldenesselar, Leilani started to waiver. No doubt Ellesime was playing a political game to get her as far away from her as possible, but most elves were sincere in their meanings, and she was touched by Lady Alustriel's offer to raise Fey'Lasquillariq'uaiea as her own. But she still would not be swayed.

Not until the second and thirds visit of Gorion. Gorion had felt so guilty for leaving her, feeling he could have tried to protect her. He had felt so terrible, he had been afraid to face her, until Leilani told her she never blamed him.

"I don't trust my child to Harpers," Leilani said, tears in her eyes as her daughter smiled at her. She always smiled... "But I trust my child to you, Gorion..." Behind them, the elven vessel lay docked at the harbor in Baldur's Gate, the sailors getting ready to set sail to fabled Evermeet.

"I'll make sure she'll grow up to be a strong, kind-hearted, wise and loyal woman," Gorion smiled. "Just like you are..."

In the meantime, Brekthiel stepped of the gangplank and approached his mother. "So," he said, "give him the kid already and let us be off. I have enough of these humans in this city. They... smell."

Holding her baby in one hand, Leilani snarled and cast a spell with her other hand. A wave of power short from her palm and hit Brekthiel square in the chest, slamming him backwards and sliding over the pier.

"Mo.. mother?" he asked in surprise as he tried to stand up.

"You," she snarled. "You've driven me to the edge, now! When we arrive in Evermeet, I am cutting you LOOSE! No more support from me you will ever receive!"

"Wha... wha... but.... but..." Brekthiel stammered.

"For years I've let you ramble on because I thought you were only concerned about elven purity. But now I know you're not concerned about purity... You're just mean..." she snarled, and then turned around to Gorion, leaving the horrified mage lie on the floor.

"Gorion?" she smiled as tears appeared once more. "A... a few moments with Fey'Lasquillariq'uaiea, please?"

"Of course," Gorion smiled, and allowed his teacher some privacy.

"My child, though it wrenches my heart, I must... leave you now," Leilani choked. "Gorion... for your own safety you must go with him now. I believe him when he says you are in danger... I love you, my child... and that is why I must leave you. At your Celebration, you were given many wish-gifts. For a long life, for deep friendships, for the gift of open-mindedness, for the gift of kindness, for you might find love and happiness... but I you have never received a wish-gift from me... Your private name."

Leilani held her daughter to her mouth and whispered in her ear, making the baby giggle as her mother's hair tickled her little face. "There," Leilani said, "now only you and I know that... You can tell it to me yourself when we will meet again... because we WILL meet again... I promise you that. I will scry you every day. I will see you grow up, little Laska..."

And for the last time, Leilani sang a haunting lullaby to her beloved daughter.

Laska threw her head back to release an anguished sob. Instantly, Rose was at her side, taking the elf in a loving embrace. The elf did something she had not done since Gorion's death. For the second time in her life, Laska wept.

"She... she loved me," Laska sobbed as she was being held. "She never wanted to be parted from me... She HAD to... She loved me, Rose... She loved me. Firkraag was lying... She LOVED me," she spoke in a mixture of extreme sorrow and extreme happiness.

"I... Elves always remember their birth... Their first days... But I had forgotten," Laska said, "I remember everything now... She... she looks just like me!"

"She's alive somewhere," Laska continued. "Possibly on Evermeet... I'll find her one day. One day we'll meet again..."

Rose gently rubbed her lover's tears away. "Now you know," the half-elf smiled as her green eyes sparkled.

They made love for a second time that night.