Shiani sat on the fallen log, her legs crossed at the ankles as they hung limply against the thick and crumbling bark of the once great tree.  In her lap rested her own hands, fidgeting one with the other in idle play as she continually primped at the pale satin ceremonial robe she wore.  The cloth felt smooth against her bare skin, and allowed the loose folds to shift gently in the breeze of Nektulos Forest.

She’d been preparing for this moment every day for the past year.  Her heart pounded in her chest, its beat louder even than the sundry noises of the forest all around.  Prayer guided her in this rite of passage, and she knew with a certainty that Innoruuk, Prince of Hate, was most pleased with her and the commitment she was about to make to her people.  It was vital, especially now after the destruction of Neriak, that every Teir’Dal female consign her seed to the continuance of the dark elf race, and thus serve their eventual ascension over all other races on Norrath.  It was a privilege like no other, and the very thought sent a thrill through her stomach as she awaited her father’s arrival. 

Her father.  Shiani shook her head in marvel.  So much had transpired in the years following the fall of Neriak, it was amazing.  Not only was she reunited with her own, true family line, but she’d discovered she was literally of noble blood.  Though notably less meaningful in the aftermath of the scattering of her race, the news came as quite a shock to the girl who had been raised a commoner by a common family in the aptly-named Commons of Neriak.  Their present cultural situation notwithstanding, Shiani took to heart the pride of her lineage nonetheless.  She strove to live up to the standards set by her newfound father as he revealed the history and pride of her birthright, and instilled in her an understanding of what it meant to be a daughter of Innoruuk.

The years had passed during their time as refugees in the forest, and now Shiani sat on the verge of womanhood, about to undertake the solemn right of passage for all Teir’Dal females about to enter childbearing age.  It was exciting and frightening all at the same time as she sat there, anxiously awaiting word of who her mate was to be.  She’d met several young men in their haphazard community in Nektulos, many of whom she’d taken a liking to.

Time and anticipation took their toll on her restless nerves when finally Kerr’Al emerged from the brush, his manner seemingly pleased as he approached his young girl.

“You’re radiant, daughter,” he said, an eyebrow arched as he made his appraisal.

Besides Innoruuk Himself, there wasn’t a worthier soul on Norrath or the higher planes whose praise she hungered for.  Beaming inwardly, Shiani smoothed the robe she wore, suddenly very aware of her nakedness underneath. 

“You look very much as your mother did the day of her ceremony,” her father added.

“You flatter me,” Shiani replied evenhandedly.  “A pity, though.  My only regret is not having met her.”

“All in good time, daughter,” Kerr’Al assured her.  “You are still young yet to weather the influences of the human city.  Such a ponderous lot rests on our isolation here in Nektulos.  I dare not jeopardize it by braving the ravages of a mixed culture where dangers abound at every turn.  It was the reason for your fosterhood in the family of V’Tal, even as it is the reason for our exile here in Nektulos among the Thexians.”

“I understand, father.  Truly I do,” Shiani replied, her tone sincere.  “Still, my mind wanders to mother, young Nearis and my sister, Chiani… Yes, I wonder at her the most.”

“Do you, now?”

“I do.”

“In what way?” Kerr’Al’s interest was piqued.

“In what way haven’t I?” Shiani shrugged ponderously.  “It amuses me to imagine that she may even now, at this very moment, be donning a similar robe, about to take on a mate as I do.”

“Perhaps she is, at that,” her father admitted.  “Stranger things have happened under Innoruuk’s all-seeing eyes.  Be at ease, Shiani, as you have my word you shall chance upon a meeting with your twin, assuming all goes well in Freeport.”

“I hope so,” Shiani smiled.

“But for now, I ask that you abandon such thoughts,” Kerr’Al urged.  “For this hour is your hour, and it is truly momentous.  Your mate awaits you at the altar of the Prince even as we speak.”

Biting her lip, Shiani cast a rigid look up at her father.

“Worry not, daughter,” he assured, placing his hands firmly to frame to her shoulders.  “You shall be pleased, as he will grant you and our family a fine posterity worthy of the name Nethrek.  Hear me, for I say this with confidence.  Would that your sister could be half so fortunate in Freeport with her ceremony.”

A smile crossed his daughter’s face, politely masking her tension in response to her father’s glowing report.  Though she wasn’t about to take this man to husband by merit of this particular ceremony, it wasn’t unheard of for young females to do so shortly afterwards—particularly among nobility where marriages were typically arranged between families.  Still, the proposition was nerve-wracking to the young girl, hearing her father speak of this on the eve of her ceremony.

“But now, Shiani, as you take to mate, and dedicate your seed to our Father, I must broach a subject of even greater significance,” Kerr’Al said, his manner serious.  “It is time I reveal to you your destiny as the firstborn daughter in the last generation of Nethrek.  For you are the heir of an onerous and powerful responsibility handed down from generation to generation.”

Blinking, Shiani listened to her father, curious at this sudden change.  She couldn’t help but wonder why Kerr’Al chose this particular moment to reveal something so monumental as a family legacy.

Fascinated, she watched as her father lay his pack to the ground, and reaching in, pulled forth a step-cut diamond easily the size of an ogre’s fist.  The jewel winked in the waning light of day, and looked as if it were made of pristine ice as he held it out before her.

“This…is the Talis’Shar,” he stated.  “Look closely, Shiani, as it is the true legacy of House Nethrek.  It is the very talisman of your future—yours…and that of your progeny.”

Reaching out, Shiani ran her fingers along the amazing jewel.  Long, glimmering fragments of light winked among its facets as she tilted her head, inspecting this stone of which her father spoke so reverently.

“What is it for?” she asked in wonder.

“It is tied to the blood that courses through your veins,” Kerr’Al said, still holding forth the gem.  “Even as it was with your mother before your birth.  Even as it shall be for your firstborn daughter, and her firstborn, and so on through time.  It is the culmination of an ancient magic, offering insight forever closed to those not of the blood of Nethrek.”

“Insight?” Shiani tore her gaze from the jewel to look at her father curiously.  “I don’t understand.”

“You will,” Kerr’Al replied, lowering the gem.  “I will teach you.  Though I haven’t the power within me, as I am only of House Nethrek by marriage.  I do, however, know the ritual intimately.  By the will of fate, I now have the honor of passing it along to you.”

Reaching out, Kerr’Al took his daughter’s hand and placed the Talis’Shar into her possession.  The gem rested heavy, but Shiani was able to lift it with little trouble as she held it stable with her other hand.  A soft, warm light emanated from deep within the diamond facets, as if in answer to her touch.

“But why now, father?” she asked, looking again to Kerr’Al curiously.  “Why on the eve of my ceremony?”

“From this eve forth you are to be a woman,” the man replied, almost wearily as he shrugged his shoulders.  “Only she who has lain with a man, and might chance to bring forth offspring may use this power.  Such as been the practice through the ages.  This day is now upon you, my daughter, as you are about to inherit the power of the Talis’Shar.  From this day forward, you shall scry the visions of past, present, and potential future for our house.  Long may it be so.”

Shiani stared, mystified at her father’s words and the gem she held.  What wonders this artifact might reveal fired her imagination, and the possibilities that this knowledge presented were staggering.  In a few short years, she had turned from a lifestyle among a common family to embrace an age-old legacy that hinged on the fortune of having been firstborn to nobility.

“What of my sister?” she asked suddenly.  “Does Chiani have this power as well?”

Kerr’Al shifted his weight uncomfortably before answering.

“As your twin,” he began, “Chiani shares this legacy with you, yes.”

Shiani’s gaze narrowed as she noted the change in her father’s stance.  Something vexed him about this arrangement.  With a look, she asked him silently to explain what the trouble was.

Licking his lips, Kerr’Al blinked and offered an explanation, apparently much to his distaste.

“Please understand, Shiani, that you were kept in secrecy for a very specific purpose.  While Neriak was still our home, the House of Nethrek had vast enemies who were envious of the standing we held in the royal court on account of this power.  We were the untouchable sect that none dared cross openly, for we were the queen’s inimitable font of knowledge.  Those loyal to King Thex and his dissidents schemed ceaselessly in undermining our influence.  In doing so, they sought the lives of Nethrek’s firstborn, hoping one day to bring an end to this legacy.  This made each firstborn female of the new generation a target unlike any other of our House.  Their lives were crucial—bordering on sacred.  Can you understand this?”

Shiani nodded, letting her father continue.

“The time of your birth was fraught with malice and discontent among the court.  What with vile subversion sourcing from within, and rumors of coming war posturing without, the future was in such disarray that even Thysta, your mother, couldn’t clearly divine what the fate of the Teir’Dal was destined to be.  When it came about that the firstborn of the next generation were, in fact, twins, we quickly spirited you away to a trusted house allied with Nethrek, and raised Chiani as our only daughter and sole heir to the Talis’Shar.”

Looking to the ground idly near her feet, Shiani shifted her weight at hearing the true reason her parents had sent her away as a child.  Unsure of her feelings in this regard, she guessed at the remainder of her father’s tale, and prompted him with her own musings.

“And should anything have happened to her…?”

“…We knew the legacy would live on in you,” Kerr’Al finished.  “For you and she share the same blood, and therefore the same inheritance.  You also share the same face and appearance, and so could easily assume her identity among the court in her stead.”

Shiani took a deep breath, struggling to keep her inner emotions masked by an outward calm she prayed was impenetrable to her father.  Though she’d long ago accepted all that had happened during her childhood, it pained her to have the entire truth laid out before her at last.  What was most disconcerting was she didn’t understand why she should feel so distressed as she did.  Her parents had done what they thought was necessary to preserve the line.  It was a duty to her race and to the family name—nothing more.

Yet still, this revelation gnawed at her stringently from within, and she could not deny herself the inner turmoil that so wrenched her stomach.  To do so would have been impossible.  Instead, she could only deny it to everyone else—something she silently vowed to uphold forever.

“I understand,” she whispered, not trusting her voice to speak any louder.

Part III

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