Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonlance. Wizards of the Coast does.
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I went willingly to sleep that night. My eyes had been opened, and they could nevermore be shut. "My father resides in the Halls of Nuitari." I whispered to myself as I drifted off.
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I again stand before my father on his onyx throne. "You've come far, my daughter." He smiles at me, stands, walks up to me, black velvet robes heavily swishing on the black marble floor. His spindly hand settles on my shoulder, he looks down into my eyes. "You have come very far indeed."
There is no doubt in my mind. I have only known him two fortnights, yet he is my father. How could there be any other? "My father." I embrace the black mass.
"I am sorry for your imprisonment in a Realm without magic." He apologizes. "You have permission to ask any question you like."
Millions flood my mind. Where am I? Why did he abandon me? One finally comes to my tongue. "Who are you?"
He laughs, and his laugh is the Abyss, the black hole, the dark side of the moon. "Ask any of my disciples, little one. You know Dalamar- you could question him. Or you might ask Ladonna." The dark woman steps forward, solemnly, reverently. "Or perhaps you desire the knowledge of the Master of Past and Present?" The white-haired one sits, welcoming, yet aloof. "Or, you could simply hear it straight from the horse's mouth."
Dalamar- the only one I could name. Ladonna- the only woman I'd seen. The Master of Past and Present- one of great wisdom. My father- there was no choice to be made! "My father, I would name you, but I ask that you tell me what to address you by."
He smiles. "A wise choice, little one. You may call me 'my father' if you so desire, but you may prefer my title. The Devouring Dark, they call me. Or, you could even use the name your grandmother chose for me." He lifts my chin, and whispers, "Nuitari."
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