Tengenwa did not want to hear the rest of the conversation, but he was amazed by the king's perceptiveness. Nestadren felt that they were in Fëa to ask them to participate in some difficult task. What would be his and his daughter's reactions when they told them that they wanted to send Telemnar to a different land and mate with an elven elemental. He shivered. That conversation would certainly not go well. Tengenwa knew that the chances of this conversation finishing in a peaceful manner were small to non-existent.

The Fëa king had the demeanor of his worst days, when the memories of his deceased wife were tormenting him. Those days, many beings were avoiding the king, and only his daughter could interact with him. No one in Mélamar blamed him.

Centuries ago, his wife had gone to Yára to buy fabrics and other trinkets, and her escort had been attacked by Nagas. No one had survived. The Nagas in the area had dismembered the bodies and placed their heads on pikes along the way between the Yára and the city of Elenarda.

Gathering the dismembered bodies of the queen, her ladies and the warriors who had been outnumbered had been the most horrifying task the fairies and elementals of Fëa had ever accomplished, and that day, King Nestadren had become a cold-hearted fairy elemental.

In the following months, most of the females living in Fëa were sent to Ithil Island, with only a courageous few remaining to stay with their family and become the support system of a land that had become a realm of great warriors.

Tengenwa's one-way thought conversation was interrupted when the king Nestadren's and his daughter's voice suddenly boomed in the room. "Lady Elentári, you cannot be serious!"

"What are Mélamar are you talking about?! There is no way that can be true!"

"Prince Telemnar is one of the two possible males. The Aratar have allowed me to see this in my mirror." Tengenwa's attention left the king standing beside him and he listened to the conversation.

"Find another male! My daughter's guard will be no puppet in your hands!"

"There are only two males, Nestadren," Tengenwa intervened. "And neither would be a puppet in our hands. This is a great destiny we are talking about. It is no curse to avoid at all costs!"

"How can marrying a mortal woman be anything but a curse?" Nestadren asked, bewildered and insulted that his greatest warrior was being approached for this task. Without a doubt, the elven queen and her husband had chosen his warrior because he was of dragon blood.

"No dragon or fairy or elemental or elf would ever accept to bind with a mortal. It was too distasteful." He briefly thought of the rumors he had heard about Queen Arien's daughter being in love with a mortal man, but dismissed it quickly. After all, Arien's line was considered half-mermaid since their descendants could choose between mortality and immortality. But none of this for his warrior!

"You are wrong, Nestadren," Elentári said, reading his mind. "Dúwath is the second possible male, and he is an elf."

King Nestadren turned his glare in the direction of the elven prince and studied him in silence. Prince Dúwath held his gaze seriously but could not quite stop faking his relief that he might be spared this awful destiny. The king grinned sarcastically and turned back to the Lady of Stars.

"It seems that your son would like to avoid this incredible destiny at all costs too!" Dúwath could not agree more with him, but did not like being spoken about as if he was absent.

"Would my father and mother be annoyed if I spoke my mind in front of the king?" he thought slightly hesitation. Elentári nodded to him, and he decided to speak freely. "You are right, your Majesty. I have not yet accepted this destiny fully, although I am being told what an incredible opportunity it is. It is... too unexpected."

"Unexpected? You are a real diplomat, Prince Dúwath! You should give your sword back to your father and become a Elenarda's ambassador!" Dejlig replied with irony. "Unexpected!" she repeated with disbelief, looking at Telemnar who was thoughtfully listening to the conversation with no expression on his face.

"Whichever male will accept this will be honored by the Aratar and live a great destiny. There was never any consideration relating to the elven or dragonic origin of the males. We are merely facing the reluctance of warriors who do not wish to face the unknown," Elentári said with conviction. "Going to a different land, having a wife or mate and a family with the one called Calithil..." The name 'Calithil' caught Dejlig's attention.

"My warrior will not be one of your males!" Nestadren replied icily.

"Father, may I have a word in private?" Dejlig asked. With an unreadable expression on her face she turned to their guests and bowed slightly. "Please excuse us, and do not wait for us to finish your conversation. We should be back shortly." She eyed her father meaningfully and Nestadren walked stiffly, wondering what his daughter wanted to talk to him about.

He followed Dejlig to a different room, still fuming about the outrageous demand of the Elenarda's rulers and Tengenwa. Dejlig closed the door behind them and attacked immediately.

*Arien = The Sun-Maiden

*Nagas= are a primeval race of divineserpent-people.They are half human and half snake.Usually depicted as human above the waist and snake below the waist,Nagascan also change shape to appear fully human or snake.