SAELYNAFaridah, Michelle and Constance teach me a song as we carry wood back to the circle. The Wolf's Bane, they call it. It has a catchy tune, though the lyrics make me cringe now and then. They call them out though, at the top of their voices without abandon. 'The sweetness of her groin, he sang of her with praise. The wolf of Myre was gone, and all he swore to be chaste. They called upon his name, but Wunder would not come. His mistress held the chain, and his bottle of rum'. Veesa chuckles now and then when she hears a particularly lewd line. I give her a sidelong line when she chortles out loud at one, 'The noble lady swung her staff and the alpha's balls were mush'. 'Oh dear', she mutters, wiping her eyes. 'Aren't you worried someone would hear them?' I ask, cautiously glancing around. 'Hear them? Dear, do you know what the valley is called?' she says. I shrug, and it's quite surprising that I don't. It's practically in my backyard. 

CYRAN'She sings well', Hustin says. 'Your mouth is open', I snap and Laen laughs. 'He's been ogling at her since when she arrived. She's real pretty, though. We haven't had one of those in a while', Allos says. I bristle at him, 'Hey back off!' 'Shut the fuck up, Al', Gylen says briskly, and he raises his hands in surrender. 'They've been on the juice for a while now. You can't blame them', he says to me. I peer at the bottles around us, and I count twelve. 'Allos had the most of them', Pedran points out. 'You barely had two. Go on, elf, drink up!' Seirmon says and hands me a bottle. 'I hear elves don't get intoxicated. That true?' Allos inquires. I reflect back at the Fall festival last year, when Saelyna had drunk herself to stupor. 'Yes, I suppose. Halden mead however, it takes a toll. It's brewed from the barks of the willan tree, grown on Mount Iden. I suppose it has magical properties. It's the only thing that gets us really high', I tell him. 'We'

CAIVANI've only been to the festival in Qarax twice; once when I was little and once two years before. It basically shares the same preparations with the other towns and cities across Quindar, but on a much larger scale. This year, the lords of the four cities in Quindar are invited. Their entourage arrived one after the other; the lords of Yindel and Hallos arrived yesterday, Tussel and Baldridge arrived earlier today. I observe the city from my window, while I change into a flannel shirt and a trouser. Fire Night was the evening before, but it doesn't look like the walls, rooftops and lampstands had been lit up with flames. I loved the view; the city had resembled a great cake with candles. My thoughts travel back to Eldad as they have recently been doing more frequently these days. They would have had theirs as well. I wonder about the elf, though. I doubt she would be inclined to join in the festivities.

CYRANVeesa consents for me to take my bow and arrows after hours of trial. I'm grateful as my fingers trace the familiar line of bowstring and carress the soft quilts of my arrows. The only thing I truly relate with. I make sure Saelyna does not see me steal off towards the woods. This time, I stay on the outcrop, and I don't cross the water. Since the day I killed that wolf-thing with my dagger, I've had some sort of reaction to the sight of those woods, and I can't bring myself to go in there. I stretch out my fingers and wave my arms around a little before searching for a target. On this side of the river, has free trees, none of them are good targets and all are down by the slopes. I don't dawdle. I hunt around for branches and find two suitable boughs down by the river. Next, I dig out a space in the ground, then plant in the first one. Then I find some jutes long enough to tie the other branch to the first.

RONNThese lands are older than any of us. That was what the wolf said, when I had led her down the river towards the plains between Citadell to the west and Tussel to the east. The wolves used to roam these fields in packs, unhindered, when men had not known war. It all changed when an elf channeled power from a plant, and shared this knowledge with his people, and the elves grew stronger. Men, in their fear, learnt theirs, but the creatures they turned to, were the wolves. We both agreed it's ironic, that men would turn on the creatures that showed them the way. When I finally let her go, she bounded away without hesitation. A real morgan she must be. Returning to camp, I couldn't find Keilen. The girls closest to her hut say they haven't seen her since the day before, and neither had Argell or Veesa. 'You know Keilen', Gylen said while we had lunch near the creek, 'She's a wild wolf. She's probably somewhere in there, doing Lupion-