Maerad and Cadvan had a blissful wedding, in the gardens of Innail. Silvia was Maerad's maiden of honor, and Saliman was the best man. Hem gave Maerad away to Cadvan. Malgorn married the two, considering he was first bard of Innail. All the bards of Innail attended.
Maerad wore a simple white silk gown, with a crown of baby's breath flowers in her braided hair. Cadvan wore a black cloak bearing his Lirigon broach, and under that he wore his armor with his sword sheathed at his waist. Hem and Saliman wore the same, Saliman with his Turbansk broach pinned to his breast. Irc sat on Hem's shoulder, his feathers now white again, wearing a light gold chain around his feathered neck.
After the wedding, Maerad and Cadvan greeted their old friends, talking happily for the first time in years. There was going to be a feast that night, celebrating the fall of the dark. Cadvan took Maerad's hand and guided her to a quiet bench in another garden. He looked into her eyes, his face beaming with happiness.
"Where would you like to go after this?" He asked her.
Maerad thought for a moment. "I would like to go to Lirigon, and apologize to Ilar's family, so they, and I, can have peace. I don't know what else to do except come back here and learn to be a proper bard," Maerad told him.
Cadvan smiled. "I think that would be acceptable. But we have a lot of rebuilding to do. We need to rebuild the schools that have fallen, and help the people that have been damaged by the dark. Then we can come back here," Cadvan agreed.
"We have a long road ahead of us," Maerad told him.
"Yes, and we shall walk it together," Cadvan replied, taking her hand.
Maerad looked and saw Hem and Saliman standing by a nearby fountain. She and Cadvan stood up and greeted them. The four friends embraced, looking into the sky and watching the sun fall from the horizon.