sated his insatiable hunger for knowledge with the mundane lore of the woodlands, avoiding his old studies and interests.
As Fineghal had promised, they visited Saden frequently, guesting with Kestrel and Eriale for the night before slipping away under the cover of the predawn mists. Kestrel had done well for himself in the freehold, and Eriale was the belle of the village. She was now eighteen, tall enough to look Aeron level in the eye and blessed with the wide, brown eyes of her mother and long, flowing chestnut hair she wore in a braid. At first Aeron was a little amused to watch the young men of Saden competing for Eriale's affections, since she was thoroughly independent and had no real desire to find a husband. She was the best archer in Saden, with the possible exception of her father. Aeron realized his foster sister could marry any time she wanted to, and it made him very conscious of his own solitude. Other than Fineghal and his family, he had no one to speak to and no friends of his own.
One day, when he and Fineghal hiked along a steep trail that looked toward the Smoking Mountains east of the woods, Aeron found himself thinking of Melisanda again. He tried to imagine where she was and what she was doing, and he couldn't seem to get her face out of his mind. After a time, he asked, 'Fineghal, do you ever become lonely?'
The elf halted and turned to face him. 'I've become quite comfortable with my own company.' He shrugged. 'I have friends. You, Baillegh, even Kestrel and Eriale, though I do not know them as well.'
'You didn't answer my question.'
The elf looked out over the distant peaks. It was a warm day, and the faint sounds of the forest rose lazily over the sunny hillsides. 'I miss my people,' he said slowly. 'Once the Maerchwood was filled with the Tel'Quessir. The wood itself was much greater then, of course, reaching to the Chondalwood in the west and the Methwood in the east. The great court moved every day to a new place, and the fair ladies and gallant princes were countless as the stars in the summer sky. Everywhere I turn, I see their ghosts and I hear the echoes of their laughter. But they are gone.'
Aeron looked down, a little embarrassed. Besides Fineghal's loss, his own loneliness seemed trivial. 'You've told me before that many still live today, in other lands.'
Fineghal nodded. 'I visited with my kinfolk in the distant forest of Evereska for a time while you were away at the college. It reminded me of times long gone.' He paused, thinking. 'I believe I will join them someday.'
Aeron glanced up at him. 'And leave the Maerchwood?'
'Perhaps, although that day is not yet here.' He turned Aeron's question back on him. 'I take it that you wish for more company?'
'I had several good friends at the college. One was a beautiful girl called Melisanda. She came from Arrabar, in Chondath. I fell in love with her, although she didn't feel the same way about me.' Aeron smiled ruefully. 'She's back in Arrabar, I guess.' He went on to relate the story of his infatuation with Melisanda, and after a long time, he realized that his tale was growing to encompass the sum of his experiences in the college. Fineghal was a patient listener, and from time to time he prompted Aeron into explaining things that Aeron would rather have omitted. Before he knew it, the sun was low on the horizon, and he had finished by telling how he returned to Castle Raedel. He felt better than he had in a long time, at peace with himself. Telling his story had lifted a heavy weight from his spirit.
'Your loneliness is very understandable,' Fineghal said after a time. 'You walk between two worlds, Aeron. I've taught you the Tel'Quessir ways, but I am the only elf you have ever spoken with. And in Chessenta, the blood of your elven ancestors marks you as different, unusual.'
'I don't know if this is what I truly wanted.'
The elf lord reached out to grasp Aeron's shoulder. 'Home, hearth, family, and friends are not to be your lot in life, Aeron. Your human side will never be satisfied with the lonely road you will follow. And if you denied the elven magic in your blood, you would be just as unhappy.'
'So I must accept the fact that I will be alone for the rest of my life? That I won't fit in anywhere?'
'That is the price of wisdom, Aeron. And you are quickly becoming wise beyond your years.' Fineghal stood, gazing up into the night sky. The first stars were beginning to flicker into view. 'The stars, the waters, and the wind will be your friends in years to come. And the wood is your home. There is comfort in that, if not the comfort you yearned for.'
Aeron considered the wizard's words for a long time. 'You think I should resume the study of magic?'
'It's in your nature, Aeron. Almost anyone can learn a cantrip or two of the magician's art if they put their mind to it, but only a handful in a generation can become mages, and you have the potential to be a great mage. Magic comes naturally to you. Resist the call if you want to, but I don't think you will ever be truly happy if you do.'
'I'm content now, and I haven't cast a spell in months.'
'Are you? Are you truly content? Or do you feel lonely, out of place?' Fineghal smiled sadly.
'Even if you are right, you know that I cannot risk casting a spell. I told you about the Shadow Stone and its effect on me. Anything I touch, I might destroy.'
Fineghal returned his gaze to Aeron. 'Let's consider that for a moment. Tell me, what is 'elven' magic?'
Aeron looked up. 'The Weave,' he answered automatically. 'The forces of nature. The power of the elements-wind, earth, fire, and water-and also the intangible spark or spirit that lies within every living thing.'
'This is the essence of our magic, although many humans can also touch the Weave. But the Weave is not the only source of power in the world.' Fineghal frowned and pressed his hands together, considering his words. 'The Weave is a positive force, an energy that is creative and necessary to the order of things. Even events we view in a negative light-death, for instance, or the elements raging out of control in a forest fire or a great storm-are natural. The magic of the Tel'Quessir is bound by the circles of the world around us.
'Yet there are forces from beyond the circles of the world, forces that seek to insinuate themselves into our own world and poison it. The Shadow Stone, I suspect, is a manifestation of one of these forces.'
Aeron shook his head. 'I don't see what that has to do with me, other than to reaffirm my fears of trying to use magic. If the shadow magic is all I can reach, then it would be better if I did not cast spells at all.'
'Listen to me, Aeron. When I was young, long before the fall of Calmaercor, my instructors told me of creatures their own masters had fought in the very beginning of things. Many of the old elves possessed the gift of mage sight, as you do, and they reported that the fiends and sendings they battled used no magic that we could perceive or comprehend. We often wondered where these forgotten sorcerers and monsters had found their magical power. This is how I know that the Weave is not the only way in which a spell may be crafted.'
'I wonder if they knew the Imaskari,' Aeron said quietly. 'I learned that a few of the ancient human wizards gained the power to shape shadow magic by binding themselves to powers from the planes beyond their own. They sold their souls to master a sorcery no other beings of this world dared to touch.'
'I believe it could be so,' Fineghal replied. 'You have touched this, Aeron, but I cannot perceive it. It is beyond me. You, however, with your human blood and your human determination, may be capable of wielding this magic.'
'The shadow magic is evil,' Aeron said emphatically. 'Believe me, Fineghal, I know.'
The elven wizard fell silent for a long time. They listened to thunder booming in the distance as a storm gathered about the mountain peaks miles away and began to descend toward the Maerchwood.
'Here is my thought,' Fineghal said at last. 'Magic is not 'good' or 'evil,' although some forms of magic clearly lend themselves more easily to noble purposes or sinister ones. As an elven mage, I can only perceive the Weave, the natural energy of the world around me. And since this is natural to me, it is hard to pervert into something innately evil. Similarly, magic derived from a darker source, such as the Shadow Stone, lends itself to fell purposes, and if that were the only magic one knew how to use, then eventually it would corrupt. But what if the truth lies somewhere in between?'
'You believe that I may be able to find some balance between the two?' Aeron said. 'I think you're mistaken. I don't have the strength to resist the taint of magic drawn from darkness.'
'Very few things are wholly good or wholly evil, Aeron. The dark Weave does not even exist for me. I cannot sense it or shape it to my hand. But you might be able to. And if this is the price you must pay for your magic, then so be it.'
'What if I fail? What if it masters me instead?' Aeron whispered. 'I saw what the Shadow Stone did to those who set their hands on it.'
'You must decide if you are willing to take the risk.' Fineghal sat down on a boulder across the path from
