Naya walked towards the incredible Gaian temple in the early morning light. She had heard of such things from the elders and ancient legends, but she had never seen one with her own two eyes. She couldn’t think of a better place to contact the council.

The last time had obviously been…a disaster. She had demanded their attention, ignored protocol and politeness, and spoken with almost incredible brashness. But then her people’s lives had been in danger, and she’d been terrified.

She knew they’d understand.

“Hello, child. Are you ready?”

The ancient elf already waited by a fragrant garden filled with color and life. Naya inhaled and felt herself calming, smiling at least a little at the wily old oracle.

“Yes, Oracle,” she said politely, kneeling beside her. “Thank you for invoking the ritual. My own ability will take many more days before it renews, and…”

“I’m happy to help, my lady. But are you sure you wish to contact them again so soon? It might be better to wait. You are young, but, sometimes asking for forgiveness is easier than asking for permission. If we had a success to share than maybe…”

“I know you mean well,” Naya said, her mind already made up. “But I am now the Lady of Anshan. It is my duty by tradition and title to request the council’s permission to bind a great house. And…I must speak to my mother.”

Dariya pursed her lips as she watched Naya’s eyes, but eventually nodded. “As you wish, Baroness. Please give me your hand. It will make this easier.”

Naya took the old woman’s hand, unable to ignore the wrinkled skin, the rough feel. She wondered again truly how old the oracle was. More than six hundred years, certainly, even before she’d dwelt in the fey city. With the prolonged life in the fey, could she be close to a thousand?

The oracle did not need a feystone. With will and mana alone she bent the fabric of reality until the fey merged with the material world. A swirling sphere of green mist appeared in perfect symmetry.

An attendant mage for the council was waiting at the beacon with a book. He saw Dariya and bowed his head in respect.

“I call on behalf of Princess Naya, Lady of House Anshan,” she said. “She requires a meeting of the full council. But there is no…mortal urgency.”

“That is good news, at least,” said the attendant with a tone so neutral you almost couldn’t hear the contempt. “I will summon them as soon as possible. Please wait and don’t close the portal.”

Dariya bowed in respect, and both she and Naya waited in silence. For Naya, at least, it was very long and difficult. As all elves would she Meditated to pass the time, but still her nerves frayed like aging fabric. Dariya sat in complete silence, not even her breathing changing until the council appeared in the mist in total unison.

"We're happy to see you alive, Naya,” said Sorab, Chief Priest of the Fey temple. “We'd feared the worst."

"Thank you, Your Worship.” Naya addressed him properly then silently cleared some phlegm from her throat. “It was...a near thing." She found she was too embarrassed to say she'd been saved by Mason. "We lost all but one of our scouts."

The council exchanged varied looks, and Naya flushed with shame but fought it down. She reminded herself why her family had left in the first place. They were trying to save elvendom. And if the council had only helped...if they had only...

"We assume you wish to return with what remains of your people?” said Dayesh, the High Wizard and perhaps most powerful elf in the West. “We can have a transport portal ready in a few days. Though it will be costly. You will have to accept certain…conditions."

Naya blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected them to speak so directly, and so quickly. She supposed they sensed weakness and wanted to strike.

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The dying look in her father’s eyes flashed before her, his will unbroken, his command to fulfill his duty clear. She would strike with equal force.

"For the second time, honored elders, House Anshan assures you that request will never come. All we have ever asked for is aid, for we will succeed in our goal, or we will die. I've come to ask for formal permission...to bind my house in alliance through marriage."

The council stared in stunned silence. Naya wasn’t sure if she was prouder than she’d ever been, or if she was going to vomit.

"You…” the High Wizard seemed, maybe for the first time in Naya’s hundred years, lost for words. “You’re one day now from complete destruction. And you wish...to marry? Who? Your remaining scout?"

One or two elders actually snickered.

"We have been joined by an ally,” Naya said, “the leader of a Gaia blessed human settlement in the great forest. He is a ranger and druid of considerable power and prestige in the mortal world. It will be him I marry."

Again the council stared as if not quite comprehending what she was saying.

"I’m sorry. I must have misunderstood,” said the Chief Priest, obviously not misunderstanding. “Are you suggesting you...a noble of Shirass…in the line of succession, of the blood of Elderon, intend to marry…a human?"

She'd agreed to it. There was no taking it back now. She nodded her head, trying not to look in her mother’s eyes. The council erupted in crossing words.

Such a thing was unheard of. Their patience was legendary, their politeness eternal. But raw anger flowed from curled lips. They told her such a thing was impossible, blasphemy, and deeply, deeply wrong.

"You forget I was a lawkeeper," Naya said, her face and ears growing hot. "I know every word of the edicts. There is no law against marrying a human, or any other creature. Only custom. My father named me and my brother heirs to his house, and they are both dead. I am the Baroness of Anshan. The decision is..."

"And your mother?" interrupted Dayesh.

Naya's mother was well liked on the council, and an enchantress of great skill and respect. But she was a noble of minor importance. She had married into the house of Anshan, and would have been nothing without Naya’s father, who before his quest for the holy land had been one of the most respected elves in the West. Through her marriage with him and her own talents, she had gained a lesser role on the council.

But when Naya’s mother refused to accompany her husband into the mortal realm, he had technically stripped her of all family authority.

"My mother has no legal status," Naya said with no pleasure whatsoever. "I am all that remains of my house. I ask for your blessing because it is tradition to do so. And I have no wish to break ties with the city of my people. I ask with all humility and respect."

"Respect?" The Chief Priest sprayed spittle as he spoke, the fury obvious in his usually calm face. Then he went on and on about Naya's poor judgment, her immoral precedent, her betrayal.

How could she mix her elven heritage so freely, the ancient elf wondered? What would such children even be like?

She'd had quite enough when his language moved very close to the word whore.

“We have not seen an elven child in a hundred years!” Naya finally shouted, her frustration and terror and anger almost bringing her to tears. How could they not understand, even now?

“Why do you think we are doing this, honored elders?” she said, her voice close to breaking. “Yes, you’re right. I would do anything. I would sully myself, I would destroy my reputation. I would break everything I hold dear if it meant a future for our people. Just as my father did. Judge me a fool if you wish, but I will not be called a traitor.”

Again the council sat in stunned silence, and Naya couldn’t stand the waiting.

"I formally request a vote on the marriage of a noble house,” she said, feeling numb. “Please do so now, and I will go."

One by one the council raised a hand to vote, and every single member voted no.

Naya supposed in her heart she had only wanted her mother's approval. But the woman who had always been kind and loving to her stared with watery eyes through the blur of the green sphere, not quite able to meet Naya's stare.

"Thank you. For seeing me," Naya whispered, lost now in uncharted territory. No marriage request had ever been denied. It was a formality, mere tradition, but such things were very important to her people. "Nonetheless," she said, then again louder, "I intend to carry on, despite your disapproval."

"Then you are hereby banished," said the Chief Priest without hesitation. The word struck Naya like a slap. "As leader of the Fey Temple, I denounce your house apostate. Your property will be seized. Your name will be stricken from the records. And neither you or your people are welcome in the holy city on pain of death. Is that clear enough disapproval, you foolish, impudent child?"

Even the other council members looked stunned.

But Sorab was correct. As Chief Priest it was in his power to declare any elf or even a noble house heretic and a threat to the city's religion. That House Anshan was well known to be the most pious and faithful in the city made no difference.

It was, in fact, why they alone were searching for the sacred lands.

"I understand," Naya managed to say, "One day I hope you revoke this sentence. I remain devoted to our people, and hope still to find a way to renew them." She added quickly, before the tears overwhelmed her. "Goodbye, mother.”

She let go of the oracle. And as the circle glowed and vanished, she put her face in her hands and wept.