Takuya found Kouichi sat at the table when he returned, with Harra standing over him, watching. She had obviously brought something for him to eat as Kouichi was carefully spooning what seemed to be stew into his mouth.

"Hey Kouichi. Guess you slept well."

Kouichi looked up, and nodded, smiling. "Yes. That's what poppy seeds are known for."

Takuya frowned. Kouichi's smiling, but it hasn't reached his eyes. He must still be worried. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Kouichi shook his head. "Not until Kouji comes back. I only want to tell it once, remember it once."

Harra reached a hand out, smoothing Kouichi's hair. "Dreams you can forget. I would think your visions had more staying power, Kouichi." She moved away, to the small burner stove that was at the back of the hut, heating a pot. "Sit, Earth-folk. No doubt you are hungry as well."

Takuya did what he was told. "Kouji caught a hare, Harra. You don't need to feed us."

Harra smiled. "I never thought I'd see my flowers again. Please at least allow me to look after them a while longer. Annika would be cross if anything happened to Kouichi."

Kouichi moaned and put his head in his hands. "Even being banished didn't convince her not to go through with the bonding? Will nothing stop her?" He looked up, sensing Takuya's puzzlement. "Annika and I are engaged. She's Harra's second daughter, and she's twenty five." He sighed again.

Takuya frowned, and looked up at Harra as she placed a bowl of stew in front of him. "Why would an adult want to marry Kouichi? And why can't he choose his own wife?"

Harra smiled. "It is usual in our society for the first mating to be an arranged one. It keeps alliances between families settled, and is usually just for show. After fifty, sixty years the bonding is broken, and they mate with who they please. It is this second mating that produces offspring usually."

"Annika is eager," said Kouji, from the doorway, "That her and Kouichi's bonding lasts 'forever' I believe she said."

Harra shook her head. "How like youth. To see the future years as passing slowly without change. She doesn't realise that forever doesn't really exist."

"She doesn't believe that we will die young," added Kouichi.

Kouji laid the carcass on the table, and looked at Harra. "We can feed ourselves, Harra. You don't need to gain the enmity of the council for feeding us."

Harra smiled. "I have looked after you since you were babies. Please allow me to continue. I promised Tomoko that I would make sure that you never wanted, and never felt excluded."

"Is that why Annika is still engaged?" asked Takuya. "Because you're trying to keep them involved?"

Harra nodded. "Megumi broke off her engagement to Kouji as soon as they were declared outcast. Of course she's much older than Annika, so maybe it means more to her to be associated with a half-breed."

Kouji winced slightly. "It's not our fault that all these were arranged." He sat and turned his attention to Takuya. "When we were born, it was believed that our ears meant that we were people-of-the-trees. That we had no human blood. As we grew, and we got our hair, it became clear what we were, but they couldn't break off the engagement without offence."

Kouichi sighed. "I should tell you what I saw. I'd like to sleep a while longer afterwards, I think my magic took me too far."

Kouji pulled his chair closer to Kouichi's, and took his brother's hand. "It must be important. You've saved the village a few times with your power, and you gave us our freedom. We can find a way to stop whatever it is that you saw."

Kouichi closed his eyes, and bowed his head. "It started in the cave in the mountains. There was total darkness inside, but the darkness started to spread. It took the form of men on horseback, and it sped through the ice lands to the north, and took lands and people. It spread through the mountains, causing fear between Honoured-Elbert, and a man dressed all in yellow. A thread of dark ran to the heart of Honoured-Joshua, and started to radiate outwards from him, until a grey mist covered the land.

"Flame, light, and shadow gathered in the south of this land, to take power, but the darkness from the mountains grew stronger." Kouichi swallowed. "The last thing I saw was a fight. A battle. Takuya holding a flaming sword, cutting through creatures of darkness, Kouji driving them back with his light. I was holding a bow, but I wasn't fast enough… The darkness took us all, and the land was covered in blood. The creatures of darkness lived in our lands, and both people, trees and earth, disappeared as if never existed." Kouichi shuddered. "That's all I saw. Everything died. I felt everything in the world die."

Takuya blinked slowly. "Whoa. How do we stop an army of darkness?"

Kouichi rested his head on the table. "I don't know, Takuya. I've been through what I saw so many times for how to stop it, for what it might be."

Kouji took a deep breath. "Maybe it's the Shadow-Folk? What if they've returned?"

Harra looked shocked. "Kouji, they're just a story to scare children. There was no great darkness at the start of the world. The twilight split, but light still contained dark, and dark still contained light."

Kouichi sighed. "I saw what I saw. By next spring, the world will be in darkness, and everything will be dead."

Takuya shook his head. "No. We're going to stop this, and stop this now. Peace with the elves will be important for the battle, but not the battle King Elbert was thinking of. This darkness is causing destruction, and distrust. If Grunweld goes to war over the raids, we'll be caught exhausted when the darkness comes. I'd say the raiders are attacking Emeritile as well, and that they see us as the cause. The attack must come soon, as the mountain ranges will close in autumn, cutting the two countries apart." He grinned. "How do you feel about more ambassadorial work? We're going to submit this to the council, get a response, then we're going to head into Emeritile, and get peace between us."

Kouji shook his head. "Takuya, our council will not make a quick decision on this. It'll be a month, before this council decides, and then it must be presented to the high council, which rules our clan. This will not be a fast or easy decision to break with our isolation policy."

Takuya shook his head. "I'll make sure they make a quick decision. I understand that your high council will take time. We should journey to the south, to the temple of Selk the Wise. It seems more and more that we're supposed to travel there." He stretched slightly. "The darkness probably doesn't know what we know. If we move fast enough, we can be in position before them and force them into a fight before they're ready." He paused. "Guess that means I am a warrior, huh?"

Kouichi sighed. "Takuya, you're just a kid. What can any of us do? We couldn't even convince Honoured-Satomi to help us. Being a warrior for the Gods, the human gods, isn't going to help much."

Kouji paused. "I believe him. I believe he can do this through sheer personality." He smiled a little. "No one can say no to Takuya… not even me."

Takuya grinned. "Was that an 'I love you too'? After all this time you've made your mind up?"

Kouji nodded.

Takuya gave a yell off happiness, and almost knocked Kouji out of his chair in his hurry to hug him. "Thank you… I've waited so long to hear you say this." He watched Kouji expectantly.

"I… Love… You…" said Kouji hesitantly, leaning into the hug.

Harra smiled. "It's been a long time since I heard that said. I wonder if your mother ever learnt to say it in our tongue."

Kouji blushed. "Are you disappointed, Harra, that I would choose to find love in him?"

Harra shook her head. "When Honoured-Kousei left me for her, I didn't mind. Love is strong, and doesn't always see the natural divides of race and gender. You were always a contrary child, Kouji. It would make sense that your first love was just as contrary."

Takuya played with one of Kouji's braids. "Don't worry, Kouji. We'll win through this. Let's get translating, huh? We can leave Kouichi sleeping again."

Kouji laughed. "You think we can just go? Harra won't let us leave until we've eaten, will you Harra?"

Harra smiled and shook her head. "Indeed I won't. And you must deal with your hare, else you'll encourage carrion-eaters into your hut."

Kouji made a face. "I'll deal with it soon enough. First I'll eat, and make sure Kouichi sleeps."

Harra rose. "If you are sure. I'll see you soon I hope. No doubt Annika will be chasing you up soon, so rest while you can Kouichi." She looked at Takuya and Kouji. "I'll trust you to eat before you start to work on translation, but I'll leave you be. And I trust you fathom what it is that Kouichi saw. If it is as bad as I fear, then we will need the gods themselves to aid us."

*********************************

Kouji put the brush down. "Done." He rubbed his wrist gently. "That was even more longwinded and pompous than the council sometimes is."

Takuya nodded and took a sip of water, hoping to ease his dry throat. "But it's done. We can bring it to Satomi tomorrow, she can read it, and then we can win the council over."

Kouichi laughed. "You seem enthusiastic about this. The council won't be swayed by youthful enthusiasm, they prefer grand speeches and well thought out arguments. Passion for what you believe won't be enough."

"Will your vision? Would that convince them?" asked Takuya.

Kouji shook his head. "They don't trust our magic. Our honoured-father had to teach us as best he could, without support." He checked over the document for smudges. "Convincing Honoured-Satomi will be hard, and we must convince her first, else our petition goes no further. We can't present it to the council ourselves."

Takuya stretched tiredly. "We'll find a way. She can't be that unreasonable if she's on the council? Surely that wouldn't be fair."

Kouji shrugged. "The council are very set in their ways. We may not be able to sway them because they'll think Kouichi and I bias towards humans. And I guess we are. We've lived amongst you after all, and we're still standing."

Takuya smiled. "Maybe you could understand us because you're part human yourselves."

Kouichi nodded. "Maybe we do understand you better for that, but it's not going to help us convince them. When we're here, we're elves. We're not recognised as half human. Maybe we should remind them of our mother, and what little harm she caused. We're not telling them that we must join our people together as one, just that they should start talking to one another."

"I'll make a good impression," said Takuya. "I promise. I'll be the ideal human to talk with."

Kouichi and Kouji exchanged a worried glance.

//We're doomed, you know that Kouji?//

//Yes.//