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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Silver Moon" data-source="post: 965643" data-attributes="member: 8530">The afterlife had been good for Laretinor Sindafalathion.  The elvan bard had been reunited with his beloved mate, Annona Luinecorire.   They had been together in their mortal lives for over half a millennia, and his final two centuries on the world without her had sometimes been difficult for him to bear.   Now they were together again, and all was well.   No, that wasn’t entirely true.  They still had one fervent tie to the mortal world, and Laretinor’s sense of responsibility for that bond was now nagging at him.Laretinor levitated down beside his eternal love and embraced her.   She reciprocated, taking a measure of his face.  After a short while they eventually part and she says to him, “I would ask what is bothering you, but I already know.  I have done as you asked, and spoke to the Pantheon about the information you desired.”  “Thank you my dear,” the bard replies, saying the words in the form of an elvan song.  “I do not deserve you.  I ask too much, and you freely give”.  His voice then changes to somber words, with him adding, “And I am not blind to the pains of memory that this has caused you.”  Annona answers “Yes, but it was necessary.  Our great-grandson needs our guidance.   We cannot abandon him now.  You have molded Celina’s journey through life since the day that you first placed a flute and hand-harp into his toddler hands.”   “How could I do any less?” he states, turning his arm to present to her the star-shaped birthmark above his elbow.  “He too was born with the mark.  I had clung to the mortal world until then, waiting to pass ‘the gift’ on to one of the next generation.”  “Lair,” she playfully replies, “You adored the mortal world, and the accolades you received for sharing ‘the gift’ with our people.  You would have been just as happy to have lived for many centuries more.”   He answers “Without you?  No my dear.  I value our being reunited above all else.”   They embrace again, loosing themselves in each other’s company.  A short while later they speak again, with him asking “And what exactly did the Pantheon tell you?”   The High Priestess of the Elvan god Corellon Larethian replies, “That the future of Celina and his companions is still uncertain.   The dreaded evil known as Morgarth is indeed on a collision course with their mission.   They have already briefly crossed paths, although the fateful conflict still lies ahead.  The gods see three possible outcomes.   In one, Morgarth is victorious and the adventuring party all perishes.   In the second, Morgarth manages to once again escape but the adventuring party also survives.   In the third path, the evil is finally destroyed, but at a great cost, as a permanent death will come to two of the seven champions.”  “Celina?” Laretinor questions.   She replies, “That is uncertain.  Now, what exactly will you tell him?”“What you have just told me.  The boy deserves the truth, he has earned that much,” Laretinor states.   “And will you also tell him the truth about Morgarth?” she asks.   He answers, “No, my dear.  I will not share with him that this is the same monster that destroyed your mortal form and also brought such misery to his mother, our granddaughter Enmellonie.  His dwarven companion is already on a quest of vengeance, as another of Celina’s companions will also be once he discovers whose mortal body the Morgarth evil currently occupies.   It is best that we keep Celena’s thoughts from being distracted by such information.”  “That is wise,” Annona comments, adding “Please make him aware that you may not be able to contact him again.   He has always sought your guidance in times of despair or confusion.  You will not be able to access Celina through his dreams at the final location where they must travel, and he must not become dependent on your advice.”   Laretinor answers, “Yes.  I know.  I have been visiting him far less frequently now that his skills and confidence have grown.  I always knew that the time for separation would come, as has he, but a final goodbye at this time would also create an unnecessary distraction for him.  It is best that this separation just be temporary.  I will save that final conversation until this quest is complete.”</blockquote>

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