Shifter

I do not know how Shifter came to be. I do not know what Shifter is. He is not human. She is not a beast. I sometimes doubt whether it is even alive. Yet Shifter is not dead either. She speaks. He eats, sleeps. To all appearances, Shifter lives. There is something about Shifter though, an almost otherworldly aura, that marks him as different. How can that be a living being? I cannot be sure and will never be sure unless I am told from Shifter's own mouth, but if I were to be asked, there would be only one thing I could reply as to Shifter's nature:

He is raw magic.

Luenn stepped into the circle of light cast by the small fire her companions had built during her absence. 'I'm back,' she announced, unnecessarily.

'Good to hear.' In his normal nonchalant manner, Dol'Ranan did not even open his eyes to greet her. But there was another reason besides his character for this- from the overly relaxed position he was lying in by the fire, Luenn could tell the elf's mind was elsewhere. Literally- the small talisman he wore on a slender chain around his neck sometimes took most of his consciousness back to his homeland of Ykail to speak with those who had sent him out into the world, leaving only the smallest portion of him to react to the world around him. Luenn was used to this and did not disturb him further.

'How did it go?' Arin, who had been sitting by Dol'Ranan's head, stood and meandered around the fire to stop beside her companion in rather a conspiratorial manner. Even standing, the top of her head barely reached Luenn's upper thigh- she was of the hitari race (more commonly called fay, though they took great offense at this) and no hitari ever stood over two and a half feet high. Luenn squatted down to bring her head level with Arin's before giving her a reply in a low voice.

'Not here.'

Both women automatically glanced in the direction of the fourth and final member of their small traveling party. It was a young boy, appearing about fourteen years old, who sat a few paces from the fire, watching them with dark eyes. He had caramel brown hair that fell across his forehead and down into his eyes; every now and then he moved his hands to sweep it aside, though it invariably returned after a minute or two. When his face was so revealed, it could be seen that it was rather plain- an unremarkable nose, slightly rounded cheeks... Nothing memorable, save for his eyes. Luenn thought they were black but had never really been able to see them well enough to tell; now, in this light, it was absolutely impossible to, for that part of his face was shrouded in shadow. This was Shifter in his favorite form, the one he used when he was not trying to be anything in particular. For all Luenn knew, it was his natural form- if Shifter could be called natural at all, ever.

He was the reason they could not speak here. 'Let's go for a walk,' Luenn muttered to Arin, straightening. The hitari nodded and began to move away into the trees around their campsite. Luenn motioned to her that she would follow in a moment, then stepped over to Dol'Ranan. Kneeling down beside the semi-conscious elf, she murmured into his pointed ear, 'Make sure Shifter stays here, all right?' She doubted he would be able to rouse himself if Shifter did decide to leave, or that he would even notice, but a precaution was a precaution, even if weak. Not waiting for Dol'Ranan to reply, she went after Arin.

The hitari awaited her on a rocky outcropping about twenty paces from the camp. The trees disappeared about here, the mountain's altitude becoming too high for even the hardy pines of the Daennwoods. Arin sat on a large boulder, her knees drawn up to her chest and her head tilted far back to better view the glory of the night sky. Luenn clambered up the rock and sat beside her small friend. 'Pretty, isn't it?' she said softly.

'Quite.' Arin left off her stargazing abruptly, now that the chance to discuss the important matter at hand had come. 'So, what did you find out?' she asked in an eager tone.

'Almost nothing at all,' Luenn admitted with a sigh. She went on in a quiet voice, worried that even here Shifter might be listening in. 'She knew of Shifter, to be sure. But when I asked her what he was, she said he was Shifter. Or perhaps a Shifter- I couldn't hear her very well. Then I asked what that meant. She gave me a strange look as if she didn't understand what I was talking about, and said that it was all there- all right there.' She shrugged and shook her head in bewilderment. 'I can't figure out for the life of me what she meant by that.'

Arin pursed her lips in thought; then, after a moment, shook her head as well. 'Neither can I.' She snorted slightly, miffed. 'I thought these wise women were supposed to be wise, not irritatingly cryptic. What good does that do us?'

'Not much. Unless there's some hidden meaning in it that we can't understand until we actually do know more about him than we do.' Because his favored form was that of a boy, the other three tended to refer to Shifter as such. 'And I doubt that's going to happen any time soon.'

From the safety of a nearby tree branch, Shifter watched them with bright eyes. He wished he could hear what they were saying. It had been quite easy to sneak away from the camp, what with the elf in his trance and his silent shift into the shape of the small black bird he now was. But it made it no easier to hear the low conversation between Luenn and Arin. And he dared not get closer for fear that they might spot the bird and suspect. He could, of course, change into yet a smaller form, but from personal experience flies and gnats did not have the best hearing and he doubted that becoming one would help him at all.

He paused and looked over his shoulder- or the bird equivalent- towards the campsite. He could, however, get them to tell him.

Luenn paused to watch a small bird flutter off into the darkness. For a moment, the sound of its wings could be heard on the night air. Then it was silent again. 'Maybe Dol'Ranan will know something about it,' she suggested without much enthusiasm.

Back at the campsite, Shifter alighted on the ground and reverted to his boy form without a sound. Dol'Ranan still lay on the ground with his thoughts at home. Good. A slight smile came onto Shifter's lips as he quietly assumed the elf's form: coppery skin, golden hair, grey eyes, pointed ears. His clothes changed too, becoming the loose pants and jacket with embroidered wave motif along the hems that Dol'Ranan favored. Now, as long as the elf stayed in his trance...

'We can ask him when he's finished with Ykail.' Arin began to stargaze again. There was a silence. Then she went on, 'You know, I really had thought we'd learn more from her about Shifter.'

'Me too. How hard can he be to explain?' Unfortunately, she already knew the answer: very.

'Do I get to hear the news as well?'

Shifter, in Dol'Ranan's form, emerged from the trees and approached them at a slow pace. Luenn reached out to help him up the rock to sit beside them. 'Is all well at home?' Luenn inquired.

'Yes. Yes, it is.' Shifter nodded agreement with himself.

'Is Shifter still back at camp?'

'He was when I left.' Strangely enough, it wasn't even a lie.

'Good. So then... The news. Right.' She gave Arin a sidelong look before continuing. It had been Dol'Ranan's idea to go talk to the wise woman about Shifter's nature in the first place; he would not be happy to learn that his plan had come to naught. 'She told us that Shifter was Shifter-'

'Possibly a Shifter,' Arin broke in.

'Exactly. And she said that all we needed to know was that.' Luenn looked expectantly at Shifter. 'Does that mean anything to you, Dol'Ranan? Because we certainly can't make anything of it.'

Shifter rubbed his chin as if in thought, though it was more to buy a bit of time before he had to reply. So they were out to discover what he was, were they? He wondered what had started this. He'd never given them reason to think he was anything other than just some shapeshifting creature, of which there were a fair number. Had he? And who was this 'she' that they spoke of?

Both Luenn and Arin were staring at him, he realized then. He shook himself from his musings and quickly improvised a reply that would let him get away from them before they asked him a question that only Dol'Ranan could answer. 'I can't think of anything at the moment... But if that's really how she said it, then I might be able to- it reminds me of something... I'll go take a walk to think on it.' As he lowered himself from the rock to the ground, further inspiration struck. This was truly brilliant! 'Ah, yes!' he exclaimed suddenly, as if just remembering something. 'It sounds rather like something I read once in Ykail. I can talk to one of them at home and see if they can find the book.' Though Dol'Ranan rarely smiled, Shifter felt that even he would have in this situation, and consequently did. 'What do you think?' He put his hands on his hips and gazed up at Luenn, waiting for an answer.

Luenn nodded. 'If you think it would help.'

'I'm almost certain.' So saying, he spun on his heel and headed back in the direction of the camp, humming softly to himself. It was a very ancient tune; he could not even remember where he'd learned it. Or what it was. It had been too many centuries ago.

'He was certainly in a good mood tonight,' Arin commented to Luenn as she watched Shifter's retreating back. Dol'Ranan was detached and seemingly uncaring about most things almost all the time, though those who were close to him knew that it was also usually the opposite of how he really felt towards matters. It was rare for him to become visibly enthusiastic about anything; when he did, it was certainly over an important matter.

Luenn nodded slowly. 'Yes... Well, I hope he comes up with something. Or we'll be wondering forever.'

Dol'Ranan was still in a trance when Shifter crept back into camp and resumed his boy form. 'Good elf.'

'What?' Dol'Ranan mumbled.

'Nothing.' Shifter settled down in the natural chair formed by a tree root. He was rather pleased with himself, at least as far as he ever felt pleased. This was the perfect explanation for why Dol'Ranan was still in his trance after going to see Luenn and Arin. The only problem would be when he was out of his trance and the women asked what he'd found out, not to mention Dol'Ranan asking them what news they had for him.

Shifter mulled that one over for a few minutes. The first, he thought would take care of itself, despite the seeming unlikelihood of such an event. He was Shifter, after all, and it was more than just a name. But Dol'Ranan's inevitable inquiry about the news... That would bring trouble.

Well, it would not be inevitable if he had anything to do with it. Another idea blossoming in his ever-active mind, he stepped over to Dol'Ranan and knelt down to put his mouth beside Dol'Ranan's ear. After a swift shift into Luenn- all of her; green eyes, golden-red hair, everything, though all he needed was her voice- he whispered, 'She said he was Shifter. I'm telling you now because Shifter's gone on a walk and I don't want to have to leave again to tell you- he might already be suspicious. She said he was Shifter, and that that was all we needed to know.' He stopped, wondering if he should say more. Then, deciding that he'd told Dol'Ranan enough for his plan to work, he finished with, 'Did you hear all that?'

'Yes.' And not for the first time, he recalled offhandedly...

'Good.' Shifter stepped away from Dol'Ranan and resumed his previous form. That would probably ensure that no unwanted questions would be coming from the elf. At least, none that could not be answered in such a way that made the truth behind the matter remain veiled. He'd done many things like this over the ages- acting in the form of another then covering this fact with a few well-placed comments. Not that he cared if they found out or not- there was very little anyone could do to him- but he viewed it as a game, and enjoyed when he won at it. When his deeds went unnoticed, that is.

Luenn and Arin returned some five minutes later. 'Hello, Shifter.' Luenn greeted him offhandedly, then nodded in Dol'Ranan's direction. 'How long has he been in his trance?' she asked Shifter.

Remembering to keep his voice down, and thus out of Dol'Ranan's limiting hearing range, Shifter replied casually, 'Not long. He got up and left, then came back and began talking to Ykail again.' Shifter kept a strictly innocent look on his face. He was very good at it, too.

'All right.' As Arin went to one of their packs and began to pull out various foodstuffs for their dinner, Luenn settled down on the ground. She found her eyes drawn towards Shifter, who met her gaze evenly.

That was how things usually were between them- they saw eye-to-eye almost all of the time, sometimes even thinking the same things at identical moments. It had been like that since they had met, some two years back.

That was before she'd met Arin, though Dol'Ranan had already joined her on her travels by then. They had been in a spot of trouble with several pale elves, when a huge wolf- larger than any Luenn had seen before- had leapt at their assailants and quickly dispatched all five of them. Just in time, too, for they had been busily garroting Dol'Ranan and she had been forced up into a tree to keep her life. Then their wolf savior had become the boy whom they knew Shifter best as, and he had remained with them ever since.

Luenn had greatly appreciated having him, too. He was clever and learned about all manner of subjects, and though she was quite fond of Dol'Ranan, she found Shifter to be a welcome contrast to the elf's often unemotional manner.

But Shifter rarely felt any real emotions, as he had admitted to her one evening while Dol'Ranan had been trancing. He just displayed them, directed by the vague feelings he had. Sometimes he did have true emotions, but it was not often.

That was what had first made Luenn think that perhaps there was something more to Shifter than his shapeshifting, something more than what he let them see. Arin, who had joined them by then, shared her suspicions when she had voiced them, as did Dol'Ranan. They had begun to search for some way of determining what he was. For whenever they asked Shifter himself, he would merely give a secretive smile and say nothing.

This hunt- conducted without Shifter's knowledge, or so Luenn hoped- had led them to the much-respected hitari wise woman of the Daennwoods. They had just reached the area today, and Luenn had elected to be the one to go speak with her because she was closest to Shifter.

And the wise woman had told them nothing.

By the fire, Dol'Ranan jerked suddenly out of his trance and sat up. 'I'm back.'

Shifter kept his face carefully neutral as he watched the reactions of the other two. Luenn was the first to speak. 'How did it go?'

Dol'Ranan glanced at Shifter for a brief instant before replying. Strange. 'Not enough information. But they said they'd look.'

'Good.' Arin grinned and went back to preparing their dinner.

Though there was no visible change in his features, Shifter's mind suddenly began to race furiously. What was Dol'Ranan hiding? Surely not what it appeared to be...

But he knew, deep down in whatever magic was his soul, that this was exactly what it seemed; his very nature had shaped events so that indeed Dol'Ranan had read something back at home about Shifter. He was no longer surprised when things worked out in such a manner, and he just had to deal with it. He had been sure that his dilemma would solve itself somehow, but not like this- even he, the originator of this logically improbable twist in fate, could not control the results.

His name, Shifter, was due to more than his everchanging form- sometimes reality itself shifted around him: in short, things did not always go as they should when he was nearby. He had no power over this effect, either; it came and went as it willed without any regard as to his wishes in the matter. It had proven itself to be a useful, if unpredictable, asset to have (he suspected that it was the reason for his having been near Luenn and Dol'Ranan when he had been at their first meeting- another few seconds at the hands of the vile elves and Dol'Ranan would have been dead), but there were some instances when he wished he did not have it.

Now appeared to be shaping itself into one of those times. This was certainly not how he had hoped it would end- he had been betting on a few questions answered with thoughtless phrases that had the twofold meanings he needed to win this game. But instead, it seemed that they would get the information they sought despite him.

Shifter shrugged mentally. Ah well. He supposed there was no real harm in them finding out about his nature- or at least some part of it, for he doubted that any elven book would have his entire history within its pages. Only he knew his story, and not even all of it.

He did not know how he had come into existence any more than anyone else did.

The evening passed in peace; after the meal, they settled down to rest, Shifter in his root-chair, the other three on the ground. No more mention of the matter of Shifter's nature was made.

Some time in the night, however, the peace for Dol'Ranan was shattered as he was jerked awake by a familiar tugging at his mind. Not again. He sighed and drew the talisman out of his shirt. Sure enough- it had gone from gold to silver. They were calling him again. Muttering to himself, he tucked it back under his clothes and prepared to go back into trance. It was a physically and mentally draining experience, sending his consciousness over to Ykail like this- twice in one day would leave him quite exhausted tomorrow.

Perhaps it had to do with his request. If that were the case, he would not mind it so much. He let the magic of the medallion take control, responding to the summons.

A moment of blackness, and Dol'Ranan found himself looking at the usual hall on Ykail. Well, 'looking at' wasn't quite the right description; he had no physical body here and was therefore more of a presence, a presence centered on a talisman identical to his own that dangled from the center of the hall's ceiling by a long, golden chain. He could see, though, and in a full circle around him, too. Behind him- or perhaps before him, it was of no relevance- an elf clad in clothes similar to his own stood with his arms folded across his chest and an impatient expression on his face. 'Yes?' Dol'Ranan said, by way of showing he had come. Though he had no mouth, his voice was still heard aloud, echoing around the room.

The elf- Dol'Ranan knew him to be Hal'Mahon- started slightly but kept his composure. 'Ah, Dol'Ranan! I was just beginning to think you wouldn't be coming.' He cleared his throat. 'We found your book.'

A hint of surprise crept into Dol'Ranan's voice. 'That was quick. I thought you'd said you needed more information.'

'That's what I'd thought. But it just so happens that you are not the only one to have read that book. A friend of mine is reading it now- when I mentioned your request to him, he showed me the very book. Here it is.' He turned away and picked up a book that had been lying on the floor behind him. With this in hand, he strode towards the center of the room, up to the small pendant that was, effectively, Dol'Ranan. He opened the book, leafed through it for a few moments, then held it up for Dol'Ranan to read.

With a slight effort, Dol'Ranan brought his vision in to focus on the page. He skimmed the words until he came to the part that he needed. This he read carefully several times over. At last, satisfied he'd be able to remember it well enough to tell the others when morning came, he spoke. 'Thank you, Hal'Mahon. That's just what I needed.'

'Good.' Hal'Mahon nodded curtly and snapped the book shut. 'May it be of use to you.'

'It should be.' He almost departed, then checked himself. 'Is that all you called me here for?'

'Well, there was one other thing.' Hal'Mahon hesitated. This item of business would not be as much to Dol'Ranan's liking.

'What is it?'

Hal'Mahon took a deep breath. 'It has been decided that you are to go into the Vastdark.'

Even with most of his mind in Ykail, Dol'Ranan still felt the heart in his body back at the camp skip a beat. 'That's pale elf territory,' he said after a moment, as delicately as he could. And the territory of so much else, but he'd had a particular aversion to pale elves after being nearly strangled to death by them.

'We are aware of this. We are also aware of the considerable risks. Nevertheless, we believe it is important that you go down there- we wish to learn of the pale elves' current plans, since we haven't heard anything from that region in a long while. And that's a good sign of trouble. We haven't had anything from Aggheramast, either.'

At that moment, Dol'Ranan almost wished they were sending him to the Dread City rather than the Vastdark, despite the fact that Aggheramast was also home to many dead ones: hideous creatures whom the sorcerers of Aggheramast had created by restoring the semblance of life to corpses. Everyone knew that the World Below was the most deadly place in existence- one did not enter planning to leave alive. If the pale elves didn't get the travelers, something else would. The Vastdark was one place that Dol'Ranan would almost be willing to accept exile from Ykail to avoid. Almost. 'Are you sure you wouldn't rather I go to Aggheramast?' he asked without much hope.

'We had someone in the Glauroch, right near Aggheramast already, go and take a look,' Hal'Mahon replied curtly. 'Will you go, then, Dol'Ranan? We will be most disappointed if you don't.'

In other words, he would be banished from Ykail. Dol'Ranan sighed. 'What would I need to do down there?'

'Just get the best idea you can as to what the pale elves are doing. Oh, and Dol'Ranan...'

'Yes?' Dol'Ranan replied woodenly.

'If you should find out what we wish to know and make a safe return to the surface, then you will be released from your mission and will be free to return to Ykail or wander the world, as you wish.'

That was certainly an attractive offer... He had never much minded doing the work they had for him, but it would be nice to see home again. It was that or disgrace and exile.

But the Vastdark...

'Dol'Ranan?'

He heard Luenn speaking to him then, or rather, to the part of him back in the Daennwoods. 'Dol'Ranan, wake up. It's nearly dawn, and we're all up already...'

'I'm trancing,' he muttered through his mouth, not on Ykail. 'I'll be back soon.'

There was a silence from both ends of his consciousness. Luenn was probably taking the significance of that in, while he could see that Hal'Mahon was staring at the talisman, his features slowly showing more and more signs of rising impatience. Finally, Luenn said, 'All right. Sorry for disturbing you.'

'Nothing wrong.' He directed his attention to Ykail and Hal'Mahon again. 'I'll go,' he told the elf shortly, then withdrew from his homeland back into his body. When he came down to the heart of the matter, there was no real choice about whether or not he would go down into the Vastdark. It was what he had to do.

Back at the camp, he sat up and looked groggily around at his friends. The trancing really had worn him out, he realized, not to mention the accompanying lack of sleep. Luenn must have noticed, for she immediately got up from where she sat by the rekindled fire and came to kneel beside him. 'Are you feeling all right?' she asked concernedly, putting an arm around his shoulders. 'You look exhausted.'

'You would be too if you had just split your mind up twice in one evening and gotten very little sleep because of it.' Dol'Ranan could not help being a bit snappish even though she was trying to be friendly; that was just how he was when he was tired.

Luenn gave him a sympathetic look, choosing to ignore his bluntness. 'I understand. Here, why don't you come eat something- it might make you feel better.'

Dol'Ranan accepted by moving to sit where Luenn had been, between Arin and Shifter by the fire. Luenn passed him some cold meat and a small end of bread, which he began to gnaw at moodily.

Shifter watched him silently over his own food as the meal progressed; Dol'Ranan had been trancing in the early hours of the morning and he wanted to know why. Ykail usually called for him in the evening, and never had they done it twice in one day. So either they had found the book for Dol'Ranan or something was greatly amiss. Which, could be easily determined. 'Why did they want to speak with you?' Nothing more than a simple question was needed.

'I'll explain later,' replied Dol'Ranan, not looking at Shifter.

'When you have another chance that I'm not there?' Shifter challenged in return. 'If I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to hide something from me.'

At that, he saw the other three exchange quick glances. His mind told him to be satisfied at that- he'd certainly gotten them nervous now. Perhaps...

And yes; Luenn decided to support his question- it was that or prove Shifter's 'suspicions' correct. 'Yes- why did they want you, Dol'Ranan? Now is as good a time as any to tell us.'

Dol'Ranan took a deep breath. Best not to bring up the matter of the book now, but the alternative wasn't much better. 'They want me to go into the Vastdark.'

'What?' Arin exclaimed. 'The Vastdark? Why? Do they want you dead?'

The elf shrugged. 'No. They just want me to find out if the pale elves are planning anything.'

'It's the Vastdark!' Luenn protested. 'It's suicide to go down there!' The massive system of subterranean caves and passages that made up the Vastdark were home to all manner of foul and dangerous creatures, thriving in the deep places where light never reached. It was a place into which intruders from the surface world were never welcomed. Only the truly brave or the completely mad ever ventured below the earth.

She had thought Dol'Ranan sane.

'I know it is,' Dol'Ranan said softly. He stared gravely around at each one of them in turn. 'I don't ask you to come with- it's not your job, and there's no reason for you to get yourselves killed along with me.'

There was a silence. Finally, Shifter broke it. 'I'll go with you. I'm not afraid of the Vastdark; I've been down there before.'

Everyone looked at him in astonishment. He'd never mentioned that before- not that he was ever talkative about his past. What on earth had induced him to go down there? More importantly, how had he survived?

Shifter blinked innocently. 'What? It's true. And I'm not about to let Dol'Ranan go down there alone.'

Despite himself, Dol'Ranan could not help but give Shifter a grateful smile. Though he had said he did not ask their company, he knew that he would be much happier with even just one of them along. It would make the Vastdark seem, perhaps, ever so slightly less dangerous.

'In that case,' Luenn put in then, 'I'll come too. No sense having half of us traipsing off into the World Below and leaving the rest of us behind- not to mention that you'll be less likely to be eaten by something if there are three of us-'

'Four,' interrupted Arin. No explanation was necessary.

But while the others began to talk and laugh again to lighten the mood a little, Shifter's thoughts were anything but cheerful. Oh yes, he had been to the Vastdark before- and it was not a pretty place. Granted, it had been safe enough for him, there being very few beasts down there with the means to harm him, but he could imagine what some of them could do to anyone who did not have his particular immunities. And obviously, such was the case for his friends. Especially since none of them knew much about fighting and battle. Luenn knew vaguely how to wave a sword around, while Arin was almost proficient with a dagger; however, there were only three small knives circulating among the party and these would not be of much use. Dol'Ranan was the luckiest in this respect, for he was a minor sorcerer, trained in the art of magic by his people for use when no weapons were to be had. But his spells were not powerful ones, and Shifter had seen them fail against even just a few vile elves.

He knew that should they set foot in the treacherous Vastdark alone, they would probably be slain.

And, at the moment, he could think of nothing he could do about it. To be sure, he would help them fight when the monsters came, but the problem with the denizens of the World Below was that they were not mindless beasts. Once they'd seen they could not harm him, they would turn their attacks to those who did scream and die at their claws. The only way to stop that from happening was for them to stay out of the Vastdark. Shifter turned that thought over in his mind for a few minutes, seeing if he could think of a way that might be achieved...

Dol'Ranan leaned in close to Luenn. He had seen a sort of faraway look cloud Shifter's eyes and guessed that he was currently too wrapped up in his own thoughts to pay attention to what the others were saying. 'There was one other thing,' he muttered in Luenn's ear.

'Oh, really? What?' Luenn replied at the same volume.

'They found the book I wanted.'

'They did?' Luenn burst out, louder than she had intended.

Shifter was pulled from his thoughts at her exclamation; he gave her a curious look. Luenn colored brightly and tried not to look at him, but he caught her gaze with his own anyhow. And in that moment she knew, more certainly than she knew most things, that he knew what they were speaking of. Somehow, he'd learned of their attempts to discover his identity, and he did not care.

She looked away. 'Sorry about that,' she mumbled, embarrassed.

Dol'Ranan gave her a slight look of warning, but made no other comment on the matter. 'Shall we be going, then?' He got to his feet.

'Right.' Arin stood too. 'It'll take us about a week, perhaps two, to get to the Dragonlord gate. Will we go through Hingard?'

'We could,' Shifter said suddenly, 'but I think there's a better way.' He shifted into the form of a giant eagle.

Luenn guessed what he was thinking, and she did not like it. 'Thank you, Shifter, but I don't think that will be necessary. We can go by foot, as we usually do.'

'I thought that this was an urgent mission,' Shifter replied, returning to his boy form.

'It is,' Dol'Ranan interceded before Luenn could speak, 'but not that important. On foot will be fine.' Anything to prolong the time before he had to enter the Vastdark.

Shifter gave him a knowing smile. 'All right, then. We can walk.'

And so they did. Their usual chatter, however, was absent- each was thinking hard about what lay ahead of them, too dire a prospect to be mentioned aloud. It had been easy enough to make a jest of it back at the camp, but now that they were actually headed towards the portal into the Vastdark- the Dragonlord gate- it was a different matter.

Of all of them, only Luenn was entertaining thoughts not on the subject of the Vastdark. Dol'Ranan was contemplating whether or not this had indeed been the best choice, Arin was imagining what sort of things they might encounter in the darkness and how best to deal with each, while Shifter was still trying to formulate a plan that would extricate them from the whole situation. But Luenn... Luenn was thinking of Shifter.

When they had discovered what he was- perhaps when Dol'Ranan shared with them the contents of his book- what then? What purpose would this knowledge serve? Why had they even sought to reveal him at all?

Sheer curiosity was most of it. They just wanted to know what sort of being was he, who didn't have a body to call his own. But as for the other small portion of their reasoning... Fear. It was because they were not sure whether they were safe around Shifter or not.

Oh, none of them would ever say so aloud, to be sure; it had never been mentioned between them. But Luenn could feel that the uneasiness was there; she herself shared it. To travel in the company of an unknown power that might as easily be malignant as benign was an unsettling experience at best and could be downright dangerous at worst. Shifter had never caused them harm, or even been anything other than helpful, but they could not be certain if this would last, or for how long. And thus, they wanted to uncover his true self to know if they had anything to fear from him. To know if he could be trusted.

Even her empathetic connection with him had not helped her discern anything about that aspect of him, she reflected gloomily, then started as she felt something wrap itself around her waist. Unnoticed by her, Shifter had come up beside her and placed his arm about her. 'Are you all right?' he asked her gently. 'You seem sad.'

Luenn forced a smile. 'I do? That's funny; everything's fine.' She hoped he wouldn't be able to tell it as the lie it was.

If he did notice, he made no mention of it. 'Good. I don't like it when you're sad.' He squeezed her to him slightly, then released her waist to walk about a pace beside her.

Luenn gave him a sidelong stare. He certainly was an odd one, Shifter. He had no emotions and yet he displayed the stranger ones. More unusual still, she gave no response to most of it. As close as they were in thought and character, she had never felt anything more for him than the affection she had for any of her friends. And she knew that that really should not be- everything in the circumstances dictated that she should have loved Shifter.

Yet she did not.

He was her friend and no more. She wasn't sure why that was, not exactly, but she had a few theories. One was the fact that after one was around Shifter for a while, one began to notice a slight aura of magic around him, a faint emanation that was sometimes a bit unsettling until one got used to it. That had been off-putting. And if not because of that... perhaps they were too alike. Maybe they acted so similarly that it actually pushed them farther apart rather than closer together. She was not sure, but whatever the reason, that was the way things stood between them, and she was fairly sure Shifter could sense the irregularity of their rapport.

He could, too, but what Luenn did not know was that he had correctly divined the reason. He was the cause- or at least, his reality shifting was. Though he would have been surprised had he felt any real emotions of love towards her, he could sense that Luenn should have- he'd seen enough of humans over the centuries to know what was normal. And it wouldn't be the first time his power had affected the way romance evolved. He had not yet, however, decided if that was a good thing or a bad.

Arin marched up to them then, interrupting their thoughts. 'Dol'Ranan wants to know if you want to stop for lunch now.'

Luenn nodded. 'All right. Right here, should we?'

The hitari threw Shifter a hopeful look. 'Yes. Shifter, we're almost out of good meat. Would you mind going hunting? You're certainly the best at it.' She displayed her best smile.

Shifter gave her a long, unreadable stare. They were just trying to get rid of him so they could talk. But after a minute, he decided to allow them the time they wanted. 'I'll go.' He paused for a moment, then took on the shape of his giant wolf, his best hunter. He loped off without a backwards glance, leaving his three mortal companions behind.

As soon as he had vanished from sight into the trees, Arin turned towards Dol'Ranan, who had stopped about ten paces ahead of her and Luenn. 'All right- tell us. What did the book say?'

The elf hesitated a moment before replying. 'Not as much as I'd hoped, but a bit more than the wise woman gave us. It said...' He stopped to clear his throat and recall the words. 'He is Shifter and only Shifter, both in himself and to the world; since he has come out of the darkness he has wandered in a history that should not, perhaps, have been.' He finished and looked at them expectantly.

Luenn raised an eyebrow. 'That's all?'

'Yes. I know, it's not much, and rather strange.' Dol'Ranan shrugged helplessly. 'But it's the best I could get.'

'What book is it from?' Arin queried. 'What book has just one line about Shifter? Really, it's quite odd, if you think about it.'

'It's a collection of things we've gathered from the lore of the pale elves, actually. I read it to learn more about them just before I left Ykail on my mission.'

'It's from the pale elves?' Luenn asked incredulously. 'Why do they know about Shifter?'

'Who knows?' Dol'Ranan returned. 'Why shouldn't they know about him- we of the surface world do, so I see nothing wrong with them knowing the same.' He did not look at all reluctant to be admitting that the pale elves might be as knowledgeable as his own people in certain matters; for although the elves of the sunlit world hated their subterranean cousins and would gladly rid the land of any they came across, they did not deny that the vile elves had a history as varied- if not more so- than their own and certainly longer, or that the pale elves had produced some of the world's foremost scholars. If one could get past their ever-ready knives, that was.

'Forget I asked. Whomever it came from, it won't do us much good unless we can figure out what they're talking about,' Arin pointed out. 'Any ideas, anyone?'

The group was silent as they pondered the matter. After a few minutes, Luenn began to think aloud, mumbling to no one in particular, 'What I'm wondering is what it means by 'to the world' or whatever that part was. If it means what it first seems to- that the world knows him as Shifter- then there's no point in saying it. But... what else...'

Arin decided to join in on Luenn's thoughts by voicing her own. 'I want to know what darkness it was he came from... Maybe if we knew where he comes from it would explain more of the line.'

'The Vastdark,' Dol'Ranan muttered suddenly. The two women gave him a sharp look; the elf left off staring at the ground as he had been doing and a slight tone of excitement colored his voice as he went on. 'It's quite obvious after you've seen it- he came up out of the darkness, the line says. Shifter's been to the Vastdark, the pale elves know of him- it's all there! Everything fits!' He was actually breathing slightly harder than normal by the time he'd finished, and his eyes flickered back and forth between Luenn and Arin as he waited for their reactions.

They weren't quite as he had hoped. 'Well... I suppose that does make sense,' Luenn agreed slowly after a short consideration of his theory. 'But it doesn't have to be that. I mean, he could have visited the Vastdark at some other time, and as we all know, the pale elves do know a considerable amount.' Arin was nodding as she spoke.

Dol'Ranan rolled his eyes in exasperation. 'No! What would that darkness he's been spawned in be, then? How many places can you call 'the darkness'? Aggheramast, maybe, but the pale elves usually prefer literal meanings to figurative ones. Luenn, be logical!'

Luenn tried to see if, indeed, she could think of another place; she failed. But she was not yet convinced. 'I don't know...'

'Here: we'll ask Shifter when he gets back,' Arin proposed in an effort to stop the dispute. 'Ask him if he's from the Vastdark.'

A short pause followed; then Dol'Ranan nodded with less reluctance than Arin would have expected. 'All right. Just don't make it seem like there's any more to it than simple curiosity. Wait for a good moment in the conversation, if you can.' Arin nodded and began to plan the best way to pose the question.

Meanwhile, Shifter was also thinking hard as he wandered around in a vague search for prey; again on the subject of how to avert the disaster that was quickly coming to doom his friends. He wasn't quite sure why he was troubling himself so much on their account; they were only mortal and would die sooner or later anyhow. Besides, it was their choice to go into the Vastdark. They knew of the risks. Who was he to interfere?

There had to be some way.

A rabbit darted by him and he made a half-hearted lunge to grab it. It was not really an attempt to catch it, though, and he was not unhappy when the hare bolted away unharmed. They had no real need for meat, he was sure- it had merely been an excuse. He wondered if they were done discussing him yet. And what they were discussing exactly, but that matter could wait. He'd find out eventually. Somehow...

Somehow he had to save them from the clutches of the Vastdark. Rebuking himself for his wandering thoughts, Shifter once again addressed this important issue; the secret discussion of his friends paled in comparison to this...

Pale.

He had inspiration.

Fifteen minutes later, Dol'Ranan was muttering, 'Where is he?' and not for the first time. 'It doesn't take that long to hunt. Does it?'

Luenn began to reply, but an unfamiliar voice from the other side of the tree against which Dol'Ranan leaned spoke first. 'Generally not, no.'

Dol'Ranan jumped around to face the newcomer; Arin's and Luenn's heads jerked up to stare. It was a pale elf- tall, fair-skinned, with stringy grey-brown hair and grey eyes the color of Dol'Ranan's own. He wore a loose shirt and pants- again in grey- belted around the waist with a braided leather cord.

It took Dol'Ranan only a split second to react to this new threat; he pulled out the knife in his belt and threw it at the vile elf. Despite his lack of training, it chanced to drive itself into the pale elf's chest approximately where his heart was.

Yet he did not die. He looked down at the dagger protruding from his chest, shook his head, then reached up with one slender hand to casually pull it out. There was no wound, nor a tear in the clothes he wore. 'That wasn't very nice,' he remarked offhandedly, tossing the knife back to land at Dol'Ranan's feet.

The elf froze as the pale elf became Shifter in his boy form. Shifter smiled innocently at him. 'Yes, it's me.'

'My gods,' Dol'Ranan murmured, breaking out of his stunned state with an effort. 'I could have killed you! But... how...'

'Not with that little knife you couldn't have,' Shifter returned, strolling past Dol'Ranan to seat himself beside a tree, ignoring the astonished looks he was receiving from the other three. 'It's not magic.' Then he paused as he realized what he'd just accidentally admitted.

Luenn had not missed the significance of this, but she did not let her face know. 'And just why did you sneak up on us in the guise of a pale elf?' she asked instead.

'Because,' Shifter announced proudly, 'that's how I'll be going into the Vastdark for you.'

'Wait a minute- what do you mean, 'for us'?' Arin demanded, a suspicious look on her face.

Shifter shrugged. 'It's quite simple- you'll all be killed if you go into the Vastdark; it's highly dangerous. So I thought that I might go in there instead; disguised as a pale elf, no one would bother me much, and I could find out much more than any of you could. Besides, if I do get attacked, I should be all right.'

'You'd do that for me?' Dol'Ranan asked incredulously.

'Yes- why shouldn't I?'

There was no good answer to that. Dol'Ranan gave Shifter a deeply grateful look. 'Thank you, Shifter. Thank you so much.'

'You know a lot about the Vastdark,' Arin interrupted. 'Is that where you're from?'

Shifter gave her a long, considering stare. So they were curious about his history too. He decided to give them the answer, though it would probably only confuse them more. He shook his head. 'No.'

Luenn knew then that as the question had already been asked, they might as well go all the way with it. 'Where are you from, then?' she challenged.

Shifter's gaze turned to her; she stared back at him fearlessly. 'I'm from beyond the Vastdark.' Below the Vastdark would probably be a more accurate descriptor, but it didn't have quite the same ring to it. Besides, it very well could be beyond the Vastdark as well; it was a strange place, where he had come into being.

'Beyond the Vastdark?' Luenn repeated. Shifter nodded wordlessly. Luenn raised one eyebrow slightly. 'I've never heard of any place beyond the Vastdark. Just it and the surface.'

'Not many people do know if it, even in the Vastdark,' Shifter replied airily. 'Now, are we going to eat? Or do you want me to leave again?

Luenn gave an involuntary wince. Why did Shifter have to be so observant? It wasn't fair.

'That's quite all right,' Dol'Ranan interceded smoothly, his face showing no sign whatsoever of any unease. He was very good at doing that. 'Although,' he added as an afterthought, 'I do notice you didn't manage to catch anything.'

'Fast little pests, rabbits,' Shifter returned evenly. It was clear that that was to be the end of the matter.

All three of his companions wished dearly that they could have discussed what he meant then and there; however, it was not until they reached Hingard- about three days later- that they had the opportunity. Upon entering the town, Shifter had assumed the form of a hitari, and was therefore welcomed as heartily as Arin was, while Luenn and Dol'Ranan were mostly ignored. At the moment, a pretty, young hitari girl had drawn Shifter to the dance floor of the inn at which they were staying. The other three had found themselves a corner of the inn well away from the main crowd; in quiet tones, they started to speak of the matter.

'How is there a place beyond the Vastdark?' Arin began. 'The Vastdark's the bottom of the world- everyone knows that.'

'Or think they do,' Dol'Ranan countered. 'What if there really is a place even deeper than the Vastdark? I mean- if the pale elves are saying he came from the darkness, then obviously he must be somewhere else below them; it doesn't make any sense otherwise. They wouldn't call their own home 'the darkness'... now that I think about it,' he added.

'But why wouldn't anyone have heard of it?'

'Shifter didn't say no one knew of it,' Luenn recalled. 'Only that very few did.'

Shifter sauntered up to them then, his current size fitting the table they sat at much better than theirs did, save for Arin. 'How are you doing?'

'Well enough. And you?'

Shifter shrugged, then grinned. 'I don't really mind dancing much in any circumstance, but these hitari really are quite friendly. If they see you as one of them, that is.' He laughed and twirled away to re-enter the dance.

Luenn shook her head disbelievingly. 'He is so strange.'

'Yes...' Arin and Dol'Ranan murmured simultaneously.

They were silent for a few minutes, listening to the music. Then Luenn banged her hand down on the table. 'While we have the chance, we'd better try and figure out the rest of that line. Now that we know what the darkness he's from is- more or less- we might be able to figure out the rest. Dol'Ranan, would you mind repeating it again? Dol'Ranan?'

When the elf did not reply, Luenn gave him a curious look; he was leaning back against the wall, and his eyes were closed... He was trancing. Luenn sighed. 'Wonderful timing. Why-'

'It said,' Dol'Ranan muttered then, 'He is Shifter and only Shifter, both in himself and to the world; since he has come out of the darkness he has wandered in a history that should not, perhaps, have been. Now let me be.'

'I will,' promised Luenn. She patted him gently on the knee and turned back to Arin. 'So, then... Any ideas?'

While they were discussing the line, Dol'Ranan was waiting impatiently for someone to come. He had drawn himself into trance at his own inspiration; now, if someone would just respond to his arrival...

The doors of the circular hall burst open as Hal'Mahon strode in. 'Dol'Ranan?' He looked vaguely annoyed.

'Took you long enough,' Dol'Ranan grumbled, not really meaning it. 'I have a question for you.'

'What is it? Make it quick.'

'Have you ever heard of a world below the Vastdark?'

Hal'Mahon had been pacing up and down in an agitated way; at this, he stopped and turned sharply to face the dangling pendant. 'A what?' A look of suspicion entered his eyes. 'This doesn't have anything to do with your mission, does it? I don't know the details of it, and I'm really quite busy-'

'It's not about that,' Dol'Ranan assured him. 'But it is important. Do you know of one or don't you?'

Hal'Mahon gave the question some deep thought. At last, he shrugged and shook his head. 'Not really. I've heard a few mentions of speculations that all the magic stems from some source in the bowels of the earth, far beyond the reaches of even the pale elves, so there could be another world. But I know nothing for certain.'

Dol'Ranan sighed. 'All right. Thank you- I am sorry for having disturbed you.' He saw Hal'Mahon nod farewell, then he withdrew his consciousness back to his body.

Luenn and Arin were still in discussion about the line when Dol'Ranan's eyes flickered open and he sat straight up. Both women broke off their conversation at that, though, and turned to look at him. 'What was that about?' Luenn inquired.

'I decided to ask them if they'd heard of a world beneath the Vastdark,' Dol'Ranan explained, 'But they hadn't.' Upon reflection, he probably should have asked Hal'Mahon to ask around to see if anyone else knew of one; perhaps he could at his next meeting with Ykail. 'Though Hal'Mahon did mention he's heard it said that all magic comes from deep in the earth, beyond the reach of the pale elves.'

'Indeed...' Luenn nodded pensively. Since Shifter was a magical creature at least, if not some plain magic itself- as she had begun to suspect- it would make sense if that were the case.

'Where's Shifter now?' asked Dol'Ranan.

'He's-' Arin stopped and looked around. The dance floor was crowded, to be sure, but she was fairly certain she would have been able to see him were he there. Shifter had gone. 'I have no idea.'

Luenn, too, was scanning the common room anxiously. 'I didn't see him leave, did you?'

'No.' A worried expression clouded Arin's normally cheerful features.

'Well, he can't be far,' Dol'Ranan concluded with only a hint of doubt making his voice waver. He stood from the table, nearly bashing his head on the low inn ceiling. 'We can go look for him. He's probably wandering the village.'

Shifter was most certainly not in Hingard; in the form of the large eagle he had suggested for use the other day, he now soared over the mountains to the south. Towards the Dragonlord gate.

No point in wasting any more time at that inn; he'd best take the opportunity to act as scout while the others had a nice place to stay during his absence. With the Vastdark being an unpredictable place, he wanted to get a feel for what it was like at that moment. He had considered for a short time going into the Vastdark while the others simply stayed at Hingard rather than make the rest of the journey with him, but had decided against that course of action in the end. It was supposed to be Dol'Ranan's job; Shifter would go into the Vastdark to prevent Dol'Ranan's death, but the elf was going to have to do some work.

Below him, his sharp eyes caught the dark hollow at the base of one mountain that was the Dragonlord gate. It was thus named because of the mighty force that had swept out of it and crushed the world some centuries ago: the world had named them the Dragonlords, these creatures which looked to be human but could assume the form of dragons, powerful beyond belief. They had actually come from Shifter's home; he had been at the surface while they had been gathering their strength in the darkness below, but he had recognized them when they had come. Where else did no one have a permanent shape?

But, he thought to himself rather smugly as he began a spiraling dive towards the gate, he was the only one who had no shape of his own.

He had, once. When he had first came into being, he had been something no one else was, the raw essence that was him. Shifter. Since the very first time he had taken on the shape of another creature, however, he had never been able to return to his own form again- indeed, he could not even remember what it had been. Thus, he had spent almost all of his existence in someone else's shape. His boy form was his most usual one because it was practical, unobtrusive, and he'd never seen anyone look quite like it- for his other forms were simply bits and pieces of various people and things he'd seen before, though perhaps a bit altered in size sometimes. And people generally forgot him after he'd left when he was a boy, too.

As soon as his talons touched the ground they became the feet of the pale elf he'd shifted into. He tumbled into a quick somersault that served to slow his momentum, then got to his feet in a fluid motion just before the gate.

It was a small hole, hardly taller than he now was; it gave no clue to the sinister grandeur that lay beyond it, the winding tunnels and eerily echoing caverns that were the Vastdark. It could have been the entrance to any cave in the world, of which there were many.

He stepped inside. It was immediately colder; he quickly altered his linen clothes into wool ones. Grateful that he could use whatever senses his current form possessed, he moved onwards into the darkness, though it was hardly dark to him. He was a pale elf now, and their eyes were sensitive to any amount of light, no matter how small.

The tunnel's walls were rough but dry; no moisture lurked on them this close to the entrance. There were hardly any rocks or debris to trip him up, the passage and surrounding mountainside being settled enough in their current positions not to leave any lying around. He moved quickly but cautiously, having no way to predict how far into the Vastdark it would be before he met another creature. As a matter of fact, it was for that reason that he was down here: the location of this meeting would be a good indicator of how peaceful things were in the Vastdark. If he met someone soon, all was well. But had they drawn themselves deep into their underground homes, then trouble was brewing.

He probably should have warned the others about his departure, but he had wanted to avoid any protests, should they have had any. And because of this, Luenn, Arin, and Dol'Ranan were currently scouring the village for him, much to the bemusement of the hitari living there. 'Shifter!' Luenn called anxiously as she neared the edge of the village, without having found even the slightest clue as to his whereabouts this far. It was worrisome- Shifter, for all the irresponsible nature he had concocted for himself, was actually quite good about letting them know what he was up to. She doubted if he really cared where they were most of the time, but he at least understood that they liked to know and thus told them. Usually. 'Shifter!'

Their search continued for well over an hour, by which time the hitari had become exceedingly annoyed with them. Eventually, the three friends met up in front of the inn. No words were exchanged between them; in silence they entered the inn and half-walked, half-crawled up the stairs to their room- the ceiling was quite low. Fortunately, the hitari had thought to construct one slightly larger room should some visitor of human size have to spend the night. The beds were a touch small save to Arin, but they were nevertheless serviceable enough and human, elf, and hitari climbed readily into them after extinguishing the candles. Only then did conversation begin. 'You don't think he's abandoned us, do you?' Arin whispered into the darkness.

'I don't think Shifter would do that,' Luenn replied, though doubt was obvious in her voice. She could not ever know what Shifter would and would not do.

'He probably went off with one of those hitari,' Dol'Ranan muttered. 'Though I can't imagine what he'd want with one of them.'

'In that case-' Arin stopped, not really having any other suggestion to give.

Dol'Ranan did. 'In that case- or in whatever case- we should probably get to sleep. We can't do anything about his not being here and he'll turn up in the morning, most likely.'

'Right.'

There were the muffled sounds of people turning over in their beds, then silence. Dol'Ranan was the first to drop off into sleep, being tired from trancing earlier that evening, but the others soon followed.

Luenn did not know why she woke suddenly in the middle of the night. Perhaps it was the moonlight, shining in strongly through the unshuttered window- but no, it was not as bright as all that. What, then...

She sat up and swung her legs out from under the covers, stepping silently onto the wooden floor. She moved quickly across the door and slipped out without bothering to grab her boots. Shivering- it was rather cold this late- she crept downstairs and out into the night. Perhaps a bit of fresh air would help her get back to sleep.

She started as she saw the giant eagle glide smoothly down to become Shifter a few paces from where she stood. 'I was scouting out the Vastdark,' he explained in a low voice before she could begin rebuking him for his disappearance. 'It's all right; the pale elves are pretty close to the surface.'

Whatever Luenn had been going to say halted at her open lips when she heard that. 'Isn't that a bad thing?' she said instead.

'No, no; they're only very deep when trouble's stirring. They do come up to the surface fairly regularly, you know. Especially by the Aggheramast gate, but any gate will do for them.'

Luenn blinked. 'Er... if you say so.' She gave him a severe look. 'Tell us before you leave like that, will you?'

Shifter made no promises. 'Sorry.' He walked off towards the inn, shifting into hitari form again as he went: rather a disconcerting thing to watch happen. Luenn hurried after.

'Did you call me out there to meet you?' she asked him as they stepped into the inn's deserted common room.

Shifter stopped and stared at her oddly for a moment before moving on. 'No. At least, I didn't try to. Why?'

'Oh, no reason,' Luenn replied vaguely, dismissing the subject.

Shifter hadn't tried to, but had he called to her anyways?

They left Hingard the next morning after Shifter had been berated to satisfaction by the others for leaving. He didn't mind the lectures- what he'd discovered was worth it- nor did he feel any guilt for the panic he'd caused them- though he pretended to, of course.

It took them almost another week and a half to reach the Dragonlord gate; exceedingly long to Shifter, having flown there in a matter of hours. During that time, Luenn mostly avoided Shifter as she could, for what she was now sure had been some sort of subconscious summons to her had unsettled her quite a bit. Did even Shifter not know of all his own powers? She did not want to be near someone like that. That was danger.

Shifter halted at the opening that was the Dragonlord gate. 'We part here. Wait for me... over there.' He pointed to a spot a short distance up the mountainside. 'I don't think you should be bothered by anyone, but if you are...' He stopped and sighed. 'If you are, try and flee; don't shout for me, because I'll probably be too far in to hear you, and you'll only attract more trouble. I'll find you later. But I hope it won't come to that.' He smiled at them and disappeared into the gate.

Luenn stared after him until his figure- that of a pale elf now- was lost from sight. 'I hope he'll be all right,' she murmured.

'He should be,' Dol'Ranan assured her as he started to scale the slope. 'As long as he doesn't meet with a powerful sorcerer, he really can't be hurt.'

'Are there many pale elf sorcerers?' Arin asked.

'A fair number; they practice magic for fun. Many, if not most of them, can cast at least one minor spell.'

'Oh...' That did not bode well, Luenn thought grimly.

Dol'Ranan saw the look on her face and paused, wondering if he should have kept his silence on this account. 'But only minor spells,' he emphasized softly to reassure her, feeling guilty.

She patted him gently on the arm and continued to move upwards. 'Hurry up, there's a mist coming up, and I don't want to have to climb in it.'

While they sat on the rocky ground with the thick fog slowly obscuring their vision, Shifter's eyes dealt with the deep darkness of the tunnels. He was moving much more quickly that he had the other day, knowing now what to expect. He pictured in his mind where the nearest vile elf city was and how long it would take him to get there. It had been so long since he'd actually seen the city... he really couldn't say, he admitted silently to himself.

So, to pass the time- how long of a time, he could not tell- he tried to recall the pale elves whose features he had borrowed to create this form. A bit of this body had come from his own imagination, but the main features had been from vile elves he'd known. Let's see- his eyes had been copied from...

In the midst of trying to recall from whence he had derived his nose, he turned a sharp bend and stepped headlong into a group of pale elves- ten in all, perhaps. Both parties stopped dead, staring at each other in surprise. Shifter hastily ducked his head to show submission before one of them started to get angry, something pale elves were notoriously good at. Now, as long as they didn't ask him to speak long enough to reveal the tremendous gaps in his knowledge of the pale elves' language... 'Forgive me,' he mumbled without hesitation; it was a phrase you learned very quickly if you wished to survive among the pale elves.

It seemed that they had somewhere else to go- they did not stop to quarrel. 'Watch where you're going next time!' snarled the one in the lead as he stalked past.

'Yes, yes,' Shifter murmured, still keeping his eyes respectfully on the floor. A few moments later and the whole pack had disappeared from sight down the tunnel. Shifter shook his head and continued on his own path. There was surely not too much more ground to cover.

Meanwhile, the pale elves whom he had just encountered came ever closer to the surface. That was their destination: they were a hunting party in search of game other than that which they could find in the Vastdark. Unlike most hunting parties of the surface world, they were under distinct command from the one who strode at their head- a sorcerer by the name of Guiriaen. He had organized the group in the hopes that they might find at least a few deer from the plains or birds of the mountains- choice meat in the Vastdark.

As he reached the division in the tunnels that meant he was nearing the city, Shifter halted to try and recall which passage led to his goal. At that moment, another thought struck him. This was the first fork in the tunnels- the pale elf group he'd passed could have no other destination than the surface. Where his friends were. He swore to himself. He had to catch up with them- but how? They had a fair lead on him, and they would certainly reach and kill his friends before he could help. He would have to change form, even at risk of being seen and discovered. He quickly selected a six-legged beast he'd seen once but never named; it was unbelievably swift. Then he took off.

What Guiriaen had not expected to find was a human, an elf, and a hitari camped above the gate. Despite the ease with which their eyes saw in darkness, pale elves could see no better than others through fog, and the band had been practically upon the three before seeing them. Dol'Ranan, Luenn, and Arin were equally surprised by the appearance of the pale elves, but no less quick to react. The instant Guiriaen bellowed, 'Get them!' they sprang to their feet and began to flee.

They were all three of them fast runners. The pale elves, though, were also fleet of foot and kept pace with them easily. Luenn, Dol'Ranan, and Arin kept shoulder-to-shoulder, knowing that splitting up would be useless due to the number of foes. The fog gave them some slight advantage as they wove and dodged around the mountainside- they almost managed to lose their pursuers once or twice. But invariably, another pale elf would circle around them and they would be back in the same situation. It was clear that soon enough the vile elves would have them ringed in and there would be no escape.

Dol'Ranan's hand went to the knife at his waist. 'I'll take one with me!' he snarled, slowing to a halt. He saw the inevitability of their demise.

From somewhere in the fog there was a muffled cry. The pale elf then nearest to them froze. 'What was-'

The dark form of a large bear suddenly loomed up behind him; as Luenn and the others watched in stupefaction, the pale elf turned to meet it- his sword caught it in the stomach. The bear ignored the blade and quickly dispatched the vile elf with a swipe of its mighty paw. The blade fell out of its body as its wielder collapsed too, leaving no mark. 'Shifter!' Arin squeaked with delight.

Guiriaen came up on the other side of the group from Shifter; he had already found the bodies of his other slain comrades. As he saw this one die too, he knew that he was the last alive. He retreated quickly further back into the mists, hoping that the bear hadn't seen him. Then the word the fay had said pulled up a memory held by his race in common. Shifter... Shifter was here? Why? No matter; he had to be... well, delayed from killing Guiriaen, at any rate. There were reasons to keep Shifter alive beyond the fact that the pale elf knew he was not powerful enough to kill him- no one alive was. He lifted his hands and began to call forth power.

Shifter left his bear form behind and smiled grimly at his friends. 'Came just in time, I see. Did-'

A bolt of light from somewhere in the fog struck him on the head then. He stopped speaking, looking stunned. Then, 'Run,' he mumbled almost incoherently, and began to stumble down the mountain towards the gate. He'd felt the power in that spell; it had not been enough to do more that disorient him considerably, but even that was no mean feat. There was a powerful sorcerer about.

Without waiting for an explanation beyond what they had seen for themselves, the others hurried after him. Guiriaen watched them go and began to follow. If he could get Shifter helpless, it would be a great thing for him and the pale elves in general. He readied another bolt.

A warning rumble was all the notice he had. Then the mountainside a mere foot below him suddenly gave way into a rockslide, just as Shifter, Arin, Luenn, and Dol'Ranan reached the gate (though Guiriaen could not see that). The pale elf stared in astonishment as the tons of loose rocks crashed down with a deafening noise. Why had that happened? Nothing had provoked it- no, wait. Yes, Shifter had. He and his strange powers.

It was over quickly. The fog had been temporarily lifted by the force of the winds created by the slide, though a thick rock dust had taken its place. Guiriaen waited until the last of the rocks had stopped moving, leaving a deathly silence in their wake; then, slowly, he picked his way down the mountainside, freezing at every slight slip of rock beneath his feet. He knew that they should be dead now, the elf and his friends, though Shifter should only be trapped. And yet, he was fairly certain that with Shifter around, that would not have happened. This whole landslide- from a stable mountain, it was to be noted- had been Shifter's doing; why shouldn't he have escaped from it?

The gate had been completely covered. Guiriaen sighed as he stared at the mount of rubble that had been the entrance to his homeland. That would take some work to uncover- nothing his magic couldn't handle, but a bother nonetheless. Shifter and the others were nowhere to be seen; since he could hear nothing either, he guessed that they must have made it to the relative safety of the tunnel beyond or met their dooms under the crushing rocks. He put his ear to the rocks and listened.

On the other side, Luenn and the others were coughing in the utter blackness which now surrounded them, save for Shifter, who had ceased to breathe as he did not really need it and was thus spared the dust that now assaulted his friends' lungs. It had been Dol'Ranan's lightning reflexes which had saved them- his keen ears had heard the rockslide a split second before the others had, and that had been enough time for him to shove his companions into the tunnel. They were now trapped in the Vastdark, to be sure, but a high risk of death was better than a certain one.

'Is everyone safe?' Luenn asked in a voice made hoarse with dust as soon as she was able to speak at all.

'I think so,' Dol'Ranan replied.

'Yes,' Arin confirmed.

'Shifter?'

Shifter said nothing; he sat by the wall in silence- he was still half-stunned from the magical blow he had suffered. Luenn repeated herself, more anxiously this time, 'Shifter? Are you all right?'

Slowly, Shifter nodded, forgetting that they could not see him. 'Shifter?' Arin joined in.

'I thought I got him in here,' Dol'Ranan said worriedly.

Finally, Shifter roused himself from his stupor enough to give an answer. 'You did.'

Luenn let out a long sigh of relief. 'Are you all right?'

'I'll be fine.' Just as soon as he got all his wits back together.

'What happened out there?'

She had been referring more to the spell that had struck Shifter than the rockslide, but she got something else. Had Shifter's mind been more collected, he would never have said what he did next. 'That was me.'

'What?' But even as she asked, Luenn suddenly realized the significance of what had just been admitted. He had caused the landslide to happen- and it was not the first time he'd changed the world around him. The line had said he was Shifter to the world- and not in name only. Reality altered itself in his vicinity so that the most unlikely things happened, and it seemed Shifter had no control over it, or he'd have known the slide was coming and warned them.

Next, she realized the dangers which that implied.

If the others had understood this too, they did not say so, and Luenn would not mention it in front of Shifter. 'Where are you?' she asked instead.

'Here.' And he was becoming more functional again; he stood up and stretched. What form was he in now? He couldn't see to determine.

'Where's that?'

Everyone blinked as her question was unexpectedly answered by a sudden glow that emanated from Shifter's area. He'd transformed himself into one of the strangest creatures Luenn had ever seen: dark, knobbly skin stretched over a vaguely humanoid frame, with faintly luminescent patches dotted randomly here and there across the entirety of his hide. 'What on earth is that?' inquired Dol'Ranan with a raised eyebrow.

Shifter shrugged and spoke in a deep, rumbling voice. 'I've no idea. But they do exist; I've seen them.' He looked around at the group. 'Well, since we've ascertained that everyone's all right, now including me, I think it is time to address the situation. We can't get out of the Dragonlord gate unless we want to wait around for the sorcerer that is on the other side to finish blasting his way in.' His current form's heightened senses had detected the faint sounds from outside. 'I suggest we go through the Vastdark to the nearest gate and out. It will be quite dangerous, but better than facing that pale elf, I'm fairly certain.' He hadn't come across a sorcerer strong enough to do that to him in a great many centuries.

Dol'Ranan nodded, though reluctantly. 'I guess so. Oh-' He paused as if listening to something, and an annoyed look came onto his face. 'Ykail wants me, but I don't dare go into trance right now.'

'We should move further into the tunnels,' Shifter concurred. 'But if you like, I can carry you while you trance.'

'Can you?' The elf looked skeptical. Shifter's body had short, stubby legs that looked as if they would not let him walk should he try and stand on them alone- this was not a creature designed to transport cargo.

'Not like this, but if everyone's all right with walking in the dark I can do so easily.'

Luenn waved a hand dismissively. 'That's no trouble.'

'All right.' Dol'Ranan closed his eyes, and Shifter became... something else; Luenn could not see what. It sounded big. Then the sense of having that large presence nearby went away and Shifter said to them in his boy voice, 'You two should follow me by listening; I'll make enough noise so it won't be hard. Just don't try to talk to me; that form's deaf and others could be eavesdropping. Now, just help me get Dol'Ranan on my back before I change, it'll be easier.'

Easy was relative; it took them a few minutes in the dark to locate Dol'Ranan and then each other. But finally, everything was in place and Shifter set off in his new form at a leisurely pace. Luenn was grateful for the speed as it made bumping into the invisible walls slightly less painful. Shifter never seemed to; his form must have had a way to see.

Along the way she and Arin discussed Luenn's theory that reality was warped by Shifter's mere presence. After only a little convincing, the hitari agreed. It worried them a little that it seemed Shifter could not control when this effect happened; but, as Arin pointed out, perhaps it was better than Shifter having chosen the occasions when it had manifested. Luenn agreed that the implications towards Shifter's wisdom would be rather unsettling were that the case. On the other hand, Shifter not being able to choose when reality would be warped had its own dangers. They decided to see what Dol'Ranan thought of it when he awoke.

At the division in the tunnels where Shifter had halted earlier they stopped again- Dol'Ranan was coming out of his trance. Shifter set him carefully down on the ground and reverted back into his boy form, then quickly into that of a pale elf. 'I can't remember which of these tunnels is the one we want. Stay here and I'll take a quick look; I shouldn't be gone long.' He vanished down the left-hand passage.

Luenn sighed and settled herself down on the floor. 'I can't even tell there are two tunnels. Now, Dol'Ranan, there's something you should know.'

They explained their discovery to him in short order; he agreed wholeheartedly. 'It makes perfect sense that that's what he does. It fits exactly with the part of that line that says, he has wandered in a history that should not, perhaps, have been. Things really shouldn't be the way they are now; he changed history.'

'So we know what the whole line means,' Arin concluded. 'Shifter changes himself and the world nearby; ever since he left his home he's gone around and altered history just by being.'

'Right.' Dol'Ranan furrowed his brow. 'What worries me is that the pale elves know so much about him. He must have actually spent some time among them without hiding what he is.'

'What's wrong with that?' queried Luenn. 'As long as he survived it, I see no real harm.'

'Well...' He tried to think of a delicate way to phrase his thoughts. 'If you live among the pale elves, you're either a slave or you're of like mind to them. I can't really picture anyone able to keep Shifter as a slave- he'd just change forms and leave.'

There was a long silence. At last, Luenn broke it. 'So you're saying he's evil?'

'Not exactly. Just... well, I don't think he's good or evil, but it still makes me a little nervous to be trapped down here with a guide who might have pale elf friends.'

'You don't think he'd betray us, do you?' Arin squeaked nervously. 'He's always helped us before.'

'I pray he doesn't, but something can always happen.' No one dared mention the fact that around Shifter, unlikely things happened much more frequently.

Shifter returned shortly to tell them that they should follow the other tunnel, then informed Dol'Ranan of what he'd just seen in the city. It wasn't much, but Dol'Ranan thanked him for it sincerely. Then they continued on their way deeper into the Vastdark.

Guiriaen was most relieved as he finally finished clearing away the last of the rocks blocking the Dragonlord gate. At last! It had taken him the better part of two days, for as he'd cleared out the rocks over the gate itself, more had continually slid in from above. Now, everything was more or less stable, however, and the gate reopened. He stepped inside and smiled to himself. All that remained to be done was find out where Shifter had gone. He had a plan- it was not, perhaps, the best, but he felt it worth a try.

Luenn, Arin, and Dol'Ranan had been left alone in the darkness again. After what felt like an eternity without the light of the sun, their food supplies had dwindled to nothing, so Shifter had volunteered his services and gone in search of food.

And yet, they were not quite alone; Guiriaen was watching them intently from a few yards off. He had not seen Shifter leave- that had occurred about an hour prior to his arrival- but he could see that Shifter was not there, and that was all he needed to know. Like most pale elves, he wanted Shifter's power to alter fate for himself- but knew that Shifter would be his ally only if he wanted to. Should Shifter's current band of friends turn against him, a proposal of friendship from Guiriaen might seem an attractive offer. And what better way to bring that about than by acting as Shifter to poison their opinions of him? All he had to do was make his evilness apparent... He crept towards the group. 'I'm back,' he announced as soon as he got within five feet of the three.

Luenn jumped slightly at the voice that came from the darkness, but regained her composure quickly. 'Oh, Shifter, it's you! Did you catch anything?'

'Not just yet...' Time to start planting doubts, Guiriaen thought darkly.

As he returned from his unsuccessful hunting mission, Shifter was surprised to hear an unfamiliar voice among those of his friends. Watching from a few paces away, his back stiffened as he realized that a pale elf was trying to pass himself off as Shifter. Of all the nerve! He couldn't let that continue. He stepped forwards until he was level with Guiriaen, noting the other's start of surprise with satisfaction. 'I am Shifter. A light, Luenn?'

Speechless, Luenn fumbled in her sack for her flint and something to serve as a torch. Guiriaen cursed to himself; now that Shifter had turned up, his plan would be for naught. He considered running away while only Shifter could see him, but decided to stay. Perhaps, somehow, he could still win...

Light flared. After their eyes had adjusted, Arin, Dol'Ranan, and Luenn stared back and forth between the two pale elves before them. 'What's going on here?' Dol'Ranan asked at last.

Guiriaen spoke before Shifter could. 'It seems that this pale elf is attempting to impersonate me.'

'That's a lie!' Shifter burst out. 'I'm Shifter- I'll prove it!' Abruptly, he became his wolf and raised his hackles menacingly at Guiriaen.

The pale elf looked unimpressed. 'Any sorcerer would be able to do that.' Oh, he was indeed glad that he'd practiced those spells so that no command words were needed any longer. He chose a creature more familiar to him than a wolf: one of the large, sightless lizards that thrived in the Vastdark and were often the pets of pale elves.

Shifter reassumed the form of a pale elf, looking quite put out. 'You think you're clever, don't you, sorcerer?' he spat.

Guiriaen's reply after returning to his true form was frostily disdainful. 'You're the sorcerer here, I believe.' Sudden inspiration coming, he put his hands behind his back as if reaching for something- apparently, Shifter had been out hunting. 'Oh, wait- I did manage to catch this- I'd forgotten.' He displayed the hastily conjured corpse of a creature similar to a rat. 'They make a fine meal.' He gave Shifter a haughty stare.

Shifter knew that the pale elf was beating him- he was unlikely to be able to convince the others that his hunt truly had been fruitless. 'I have nothing,' he admitted, hoping that by his willingness to say to he might indicate that it did not matter.

Dol'Ranan apparently thought that the issue of meat was unimportant; he got to his feet and said decisively though quietly, 'There's one way to sort this out. Now, you seem to be closest.' He turned to Shifter, about two paces from him, and in one motion pulled out his knife and stuck it into Shifter's stomach. Shifter looked surprised for a moment, then laughed.

'Well done!' From Guiriaen's point of view, those two words were a death knell. Accordingly, he turned and fled while he could. Dol'Ranan gave a shout and began to follow, but Shifter caught him by the arm. 'Don't bother; he knows the area better than any of us and there's really no point in killing him even if you could.' Dol'Ranan began a retort, but Shifter went on over him. 'He's probably just a wanderer of the Vastdark trying to get something you'd give only to me- he'd have killed you outright otherwise.' That was a lie; Shifter would never believe that a sorcerer with that degree of mastery over his magic was a mere wanderer, but it would not do to mention that. He did believe they'd see no more of him. To break the sudden tension he bent down and picked up the carcass that Guiriaen had dropped in his haste. 'See, he was kind enough to leave us food.'

They saw many marvels over the next week and were in better spirits to enjoy them than before- Guiriaen had been banished from their minds and the rat had provided some nourishment. There were massive caverns lit by luminescent fungi on the walls, whose glow reflected off the dark waters of underground lakes, creating the illusion of some invisible sun mimicking the behavior of the one above. Every so often, they crossed great plains of exotic plants that managed to flourish without light. They edged along a sheer abyss whose bottom was lost from sight even after Dol'Ranan expended some power to cast light down into it; the stone Arin tossed down was never heard landing.

Through some great good fortune, they were rarely forced to hide from monsters; whether or not this was because of Shifter they did not know. But there was one threat that was still actively hunting them: Guiriaen. The pale elf was by no means defeated by his failure; it had only made him more determined. Shifter would do as Guiriaen wanted! But he did not know how to achieve this goal. Shifter had to consent to it with something at least similar to free will or there was no hope he'd stay... Unless there was something to keep him there.

The attack came while they had stopped to rest. Shifter was not asleep, Guiriaen noted with some slight dismay as he watched them from the shadows some ways off. He did not actually need the sleep he normally liked to take every night. But that was not a large problem, Guiriaen reasoned. He would simply have to approach the group from a different angle. And so he did, creeping stealthily up to them and gathering the spells he wanted as he went. Shifter had chosen a pale elf form for now; his senses should not be quite sharp enough to hear him.

They were not, but Guiriaen had forgotten the fact that Shifter, as guard, would naturally be watching in more than one direction, and there was nothing blunt about his eyesight. Unfortunately, he had turned too late to catch Guiriaen before the sorcerer had finished all three spells: Dol'Ranan, Arin, and Luenn were each trapped in a shimmering, translucent sphere five feet in diameter. They were quite awake now and seemed to be shouting, but Shifter could not hear a thing. Guiriaen stood behind the one containing Dol'Ranan, a triumphant look on his face. 'It's simple, Shifter: you can agree to do what I say now, or...' He tapped the orb meaningfully. 'Well, you wouldn't want these to become suddenly devoid of air, would you? Unlike you, the rest of us need it to live.'

It took Shifter a few moments to recover from the abruptness of the pale elf's demand and assess the situation. It didn't seem that his talent was going to get him out of it, though he dearly wished it would. He did not know of a way to disrupt the magic Guiriaen was using, either; that was outside of his considerable realm of experience, somehow. 'Well, Shifter?' Guiriaen demanded impatiently.

Shifter did the only thing he could think of, for he would certainly never give in to the pale elf. He shifted into wolf form and leaped straight over the sphere to get at Guiriaen. But the sorcerer had quick reflexes; he dived backwards and threw a very hastily-done spell of entrapment at Shifter. The spell hit Shifter as intended, but instead of creating the orb around him, it disappeared. Shifter felt a surge of magical energy swell within him and realized that, somehow, he had absorbed the spell. He would question the whys later; there was an immediate use for this unexpected development.

Guiriaen watched in horror as the massive wolf landed on his side of the orb and spun around to face Dol'Ranan's prison. Any spells that he might have cast escaped his panicked mind as he saw Shifter's touch evaporate first one orb, then another. By the time he'd released Luenn, Shifter was shining as brightly as a good-sized fire. Shifter could feel the immense power within him- it was like nothing he'd ever experienced since his creation- and knew then that he had very little time to release it before something catastrophic happened. He caught sight of Guiriaen picking himself up from the ground where he had landed after his dive and knew what to do. He lunged at the sorcerer, touching him with the tip of his snout though Guiriaen tried desperately to evade. The contact was enough for the power to transfer from him to Guiriaen.

Shifter's magical nature had been able to handle it; Guiriaen's could not. He had time for one cry before crumpling to the ground.

Satisfied that the pale elf was well dealt with, Shifter turned towards his friends and reassumed his own pale elf form. They were looking vainly about for a light. 'Your magic,' Shifter told Dol'Ranan casually. The elf rarely remembered to actually call upon the power he possessed.

'Oh! Yes,' Dol'Ranan agreed shakily, summoning a small flame just above his palm. Neither he nor the others had been able to see what had transpired, though they had heard every word. As the light revealed the rather charred form of Guiriaen sprawled on the ground, he could not help but gasp. 'Him again!'

'Yes- seems he did want something from you. Me.' Shifter gave Guiriaen a grim look. 'He's not getting it. Not now. Are all of you all right?'

Luenn nodded. 'I am, at least.' The other two signaled agreement.

'Good. I suggest we find another place to sleep, then.'

As Shifter and his friends wandered to another part of the cavern, Guiriaen stirred behind them. The magical surge had not quite killed him, as Shifter and the others assumed. Slowly, painfully, he lifted one scorched hand to cast much-needed healing on himself. Even the handling of the healing magic itself practically tore the life from him, but he managed to stagger away to recuperate in a safer locale. He had had no idea that Shifter could do that to magic- draw in its power, turn it against its creator. This would take some careful consideration once he had finished recovering.

They soon located a ledge about ten feet up the wall of the cavern. Shifter helped them all to mount it, but Dol'Ranan stopped him when he tried to join them. 'Just a minute, Shifter. I... I want to talk about something with Luenn and Arin. Would you... mind going just a little bit away? And not listening.' There was no other way to get time alone.

Shifter hesitated. He did hate to have them discuss him behind his back. But it could do no harm other than annoying him... At last, he gave in. 'All right.'

'Thank you!' As Shifter wandered off, Dol'Ranan turned to his friends. They could see his face by the light he had summoned; it was grim. Even though Shifter was gone, he spoke softly. 'I never thought I'd say this, and I don't like to. It's... well...'

Luenn and Arin demanded simultaneously, 'What?'

'I thought about it a bit before, though never seriously. But after this, I really think it's necessary. Shifter has to be destroyed. Now, hear me out before saying anything,' he added as Luenn opened her mouth angrily. 'We all know that his having no control over his power's activation is dangerous- that's common sense. But now with this pale elf after him it becomes doubly so.'

Arin had to interrupt him then. 'He's dead, that vile elf.'

'Others might be doing the same. Anyhow, suppose that Shifter were to work with them- by choice or by force. They'd certainly put his powers to foul use. And let's not forget what I said about him perhaps having friends among the pale elves. Yes, I know he's attacked them thus far, but something tells me that if he were given the right offer, he wouldn't hesitate to accept. He's not one to worry about right and wrong, Shifter.' He folded his arms across his chest. 'Don't misunderstand me... I do call Shifter a friend, but he doesn't think like us... like anyone, really. And I honestly do think it would be safest to destroy him.'

Luenn took a deep breath. 'Let's pretend for a minute that we agreed. How would you propose we destroy him?'

'I'm not entirely sure,' Dol'Ranan admitted. 'But I have a theory. Remember how I was told it's possible that all magic comes from the place beyond the Vastdark, Shifter's home? Well, I'm going to call that true; therefore, magic must leave it at a fairly constant rate for magic up here to function consistently, which it does. The magic down there is also probably at one level all the time; that's what lets things like Shifter exist there. If we introduced more magic into the area, that would upset this balance, and as Shifter is quite vulnerable to magic the result might kill him- even if the amount added is negligible, such as me casting a spell, it could create something of a magical explosion.'

'That makes sense,' Luenn conceded slowly. 'But wouldn't it kill us too?'

'As we are not inherently magical, I don't think it would go that far.' But he did not look or sound certain.

Further discussion on the matter was interrupted then as Shifter sauntered up to the foot of the ledge. 'He's gone.'

'What? Who is?'

'That pale elf. I went back to where we had been, and he wasn't there any more. Help me up there, would you?'

After joining them on the ledge, Shifter seemed to forget the matter. 'Have you finished your discussion, or should I go away again?'

Dol'Ranan shook his head, not meeting Shifter's eyes. 'No, that's all right. We're done.'

'Oh, good. Why don't you finish getting your rest, then? I'll be able to see anything that's coming, from up here.'

And thus, the rest of the night passed peacefully, for Shifter at least. The other three did not rest comfortably, pondering on the proposal Dol'Ranan had presented. Luenn could not bring herself to believe that Shifter would work with the pale elves, though her rational mind knew that what Dol'Ranan had said made perfect, undeniable sense.

In the end, she realized what had to be done, and told Dol'Ranan so as they began to walk again some hours later. 'Just as long as none of us say what we're planning, nothing should go wrong,' she added.

With this grim judgment hanging over them- especially Dol'Ranan, as he was the one who would be doing the actual deed- the remainder of the journey held none of the sense of discovery as had the first portion. Shifter did not seem to take notice of their unusual silence, and it pained Luenn constantly to see him so unaware of his impending fate. It was like killing an innocent child.

Meanwhile, Guiriaen had different plans for Shifter. He had managed to recover himself through the copious application of healing magic and was now coming to an important decision regarding Shifter. Nothing else had worked so far, but perhaps Shifter would listen to him if he simply spoke his mind. After all, it wasn't as if he was requesting anything difficult of him- it would only be beneficial to Shifter. And even if that was not enough to tempt Shifter, there was always the hope that Shifter's own strange power would work to Guiriaen's advantage and produce some situation that would make him accept.

Perhaps it was that power, perhaps it was chance that Guiriaen found Shifter and his friends when he did. As was now normal for him he skulked in the shadows near to where they were sitting, being supremely careful to stay out of Shifter's line of sight- their sole sorcerer had called up a tiny flame, but only Shifter's pale elf eyesight was a real danger to him. Because of this, he happened to be near Luenn and Arin while they were talking in hushed tones. 'It's so strange,' Luenn was telling Arin at the moment, while keeping a wary eye cocked in Shifter's direction, 'that we're his friends and yet we're trying to destroy him, while evil people who don't care for him are trying to keep him alive.' Arin nodded resignedly. Guiriaen's eyes widened in surprise- they wanted to kill Shifter? But that was madness! Could they not see how valuable he was?

No, they could not. Glee replaced shock. That would be a powerful point in his argument. Now he just had to wait until the critical moment- at the entrance to the one place where Shifter could be destroyed. They would have no choice but to pass by it on their current course out of the Vastdark.

Shifter, however was not aware of this: so long had it been since he'd been home that he'd completely forgotten where the two entrances to the Everchanging Lands lay. And, of course, his companions did not know- Dol'Ranan had neglected to bring up the matter of how they were to get Shifter home. He privately thought that he would be able to sense the place by the magic power emanating from the entrance, but that was sheer hope. He was also largely relying on Shifter's ability to bring them to it.

It was in a large cavern, lit by masses of the luminescent fungi as well as Dol'Ranan's conjured flame, that they found the gate at last, some two or three days later. Had they been traveling alone, they would probably have paid no mind to the thin crack running for about ten feet along the left side of the cavern's floor. But Shifter inadvertently called attention to it with a start of recognition at the sight of it and by the long, worried stare he gave it afterwards. After so many centuries he had returned to the unnamed gate leading to his home- why now? He could not let the others in there; there was no telling what so much raw power would do to them. Abruptly, he spun to the right and began to take a longer route around the cavern. 'We'll go this way. It's... not safe that way.'

That signal was all Dol'Ranan needed. At the same time that Shifter began to go to the right, he went left. 'This way will do fine.'

'No!' Shifter yelped, diving towards him in an attempt to pull him away from the crack, but Dol'Ranan danced nimbly out of reach. Luenn and Arin followed after apprehensively- the decisive moment had come.

Or so it seemed. Guiriaen chose that time to act; he had snuck ahead of the group after eavesdropping on their plans and had been waiting for them in the cavern for several hours now. He climbed up on top of the large boulder he had been hiding behind and called Shifter's name.

The whole group turned to stare at him; Shifter's features began to take on an ugly twist of anger. Guiriaen hurried on with all the confidence he could muster, 'They mean to destroy you, Shifter!' He pointed an accusing finger at the other three. 'Why else do they seek your homeland? They would unmake you!' He allowed the words to reverberate around the cavern while Shifter's furious look disappeared and he stared around at each of his companions with astonishment instead.

'Is that true?' he asked them quietly after a minute. None of them said a word.

Guiriaen continued, his voice growing stronger. 'But I have come to offer you my friendship, Shifter! I can destroy them in your stead, these pieces of treacherous filth whom you called friends. They wish to kill you, Shifter- I offer you a life of ease and power. I never double-cross my friends, Shifter; but it seems that they-' he gestured again, 'would!' He lowered his voice; the echo was hurting his own ears. 'Will you come with me, Shifter? Shall I slay them and set you free?' He raised his hand and magical power jumped to his fingertips; it was easy this close to its source.

Luenn gave Shifter a sharp look; to her horror she saw that Shifter was genuinely considering the pale elf's offer. It was the natural thing to do, but she had always pictured him as being above all that. But apparently he had developed that trait of those he observed around him. In fact, he was opening his mouth; she dreaded to hear what he was going to say.

'No, you won't!' Dol'Ranan screamed suddenly, throwing himself at Shifter and seizing him by the arm. Before anyone had time to react, the elf dragged Shifter to the crack and vanished into it with Shifter in tow.

Guiriaen let sound a shriek of pure fury and drew his hand back to hurl the spell at Luenn and Arin. 'In there!' Luenn shouted and she and Arin made a mad dash for the crevice. They leaped into it and plunged through just as searing heat blasted the air behind them.

They were falling then, hurtling downwards through a featureless haze. But even during the descent Luenn had time to realize that she could see it as featureless and not just impenetrable blackness. There was no visible source of light, yet it was as if the air itself was glowing ever so faintly. Probably because of the magical power inherent here- she could feel it, a tantalizing tingle all around her, practically burning with latent potential.

Many feet below them, Dol'Ranan was experiencing something different, though similar. As a sorcerer, attuned to magic, the sensation of the power all around him was almost overwhelming. It felt glorious but also as if it could snuff the life from him at any second. He had lost his grip on Shifter and could see him some few feet to the left. Strangely, Shifter had chosen to remain in his pale elf form rather than one that could fly.

A few moments later, Dol'Ranan plunged into icy water, surfacing, gasping for breath, just in time to hear the two splashes that were Luenn and Arin, Shifter having hit when Dol'Ranan had. Then, abruptly, the water became soft loam beneath his feet; he pitched forwards onto his stomach.

Luenn picked herself up and jogged up to him and Shifter, followed closely by Arin. 'Are you all right?'

'Fine,' Dol'Ranan replied shortly, rising. All turned towards Shifter, who was just getting to his feet- reverting into his favored form as he did.

'You can't mean to do it,' he said softly, beginning to back away. Luenn realized it was the only time she'd seen him truly scared.

Dol'Ranan inhaled deeply. 'Sorry, Shifter.' He lifted his hands and threw a gentle spell at him.

The resulting magical backlash wiped the consciousness from Luenn, Dol'Ranan, and Arin. But not from Shifter. He looked down at himself in surprise as his friends collapsed to the ground, which was quickly becoming hard stone. What he saw was something he had not seen in a tremendous amount of time, not since he had last been home.

This form had no legs- the shining body, practically crackling with energy, trailed away into nothingness at the bottom. He took off into the air, hovering without wings, and surveyed what lay below him: his three would-be slayers, unconscious but alive. What had prompted that, he had no idea, but he was certain they'd had reasons- they were not mean-spirited. Perhaps, had he been in a fouler mood, he might have thought to be angry with them, but the possibility did not enter his mind. He swooped down to Luenn and picked her up in the two overly-long appendages that served him as arms, then began to fly up to the entrance to his home. That pale elf should be gone now since it would seem that there was no more chance of his having Shifter, and he could stand guard over them until they awoke. So long as they thought they had succeeded in unmaking him, all would be well- they could wonder about how they'd gotten back to the Vastdark. They were clever enough to continue following the same path they had been on, and it was a straight and short distance to the gate to the surface world. They would be all right.

It was a funny thing, he thought amusedly as he neared the entrance. Their plan had been rather ingenious seeing how little they knew of the nature of his home and of him. He suspected Dol'Ranan had been the one to think of it: he was the scholar of magic among the party. And yet, despite the accuracy of the elf's ideas and predictions, their plot had failed.

Why, though? Such an unlikely result should never have come to pass.

But he was Shifter.

The End