All was consumed in light. It seeped into his eyes regardless of how tightly he closed them. It seared his skin no matter how he shied away.

He screamed over and over into the overwhelming brightness, searching frantically. His words went unheard. The light filled his throat and silenced his cries. Yet he continued his desperate search. Stopping now would be disastrous.

Blinded, he stumbled through the narrow corridors.

Ting.

The sounding of the bell came as an almost physical blow after the aching silence. Immediately the brightness receded, replaced with a soothing green light. It reminded him of the sunlight through the leaves in the forests of his youth.

"You poor man. Come and sit with me awhile." The warm voice further cooled his inflamed senses.

As the light faded from his eyes, a rippling pool of water came into focus. Seated next to it, a woman dipped her bare feet into its clear depths. The folds of her green skirt brushed the water, as did the ends of her golden hair. Unconcerned with the dampness, she beckoned him toward her. At her movement, a large brown wolf stirred in his place at her side.

Warily, he stepped forward. Respite could easily shift into something much darker with the fae, especially one who already had a wolf at her call. Great beauty frequently hid even greater cruelty.

Her tinkling laugh rang out through the clearing.

"Peace, wolf. I bear you no ill will. I merely wish to hear what brings one such as you to this place." She leaned her head back to catch the warm rays of the sun as she spoke, unconcerned at his presence. That alone spoke of her power. Few indeed were the fae who would be unconcerned in his presence, even with the presence of another wolf at her side.

As he reached the pool, he could see its features more clearly. At least twelve feet deep, its clarity revealed the stones scattered across its bottom in spite of its depth. Arranged at the bottom was a circle of crystals around simple disk of white marble.

Seating himself next to the pool, at a respectful distance from the woman, he considered his answer. As he thought, a small, dark haired fairy alighted on a flower near the pool. The wolf at her side snapped at the fairy, which shied away. Without looking, the woman reached out and, plucking the fairy from her perch, hurled her down into the pool. Even as he moved to reach for her, the fairy sank onto the marble disk and lay still.

"Why did you do that?"

"Answer my question and I shall answer yours."

"I am searching for someone."

"Who?"

"I have answered your question. Now you shall answer mine."

She smiled.

"I wanted to see your reaction."

"That seems a poor reason to entrap something so harmless."

Again her tinkling laugh rang out through the clearing.

"You of all people should know that size has nothing to do with power. Now, for whom do you search?"

He stilled as he searched for an answer.

"I do not know."

"Tsk, starting with no objective is a poor way to begin a quest."

As her words rang through the clearing, the blinding light returned, cloaking everything in brightness.

"It is coming, Marrok. Let the games begin."

Upon those words, images flooded his mind, too fast to follow and painful in their intensity. The barrage could have lasted for a moment or for an eternity. Here, time stood still.


Bran awoke, panting. For several minutes he was silent, recovering his center. Then he began to curse, quietly and fervently. He hated dreams; they never revealed what was going to happen until it was too late.