Disclaimer: Don't own the World of Two Moons.

This is the first chapter in the actual story; consider the previous three chapters as a set of prologues.

Four

First Steps on the Path of Destiny

"We need to know."

Sunstream looked at his daughters, seventeen and each as tall as he now. He saw in the pair a trace of the iron that ran in all his family from the Wolfrider side. All of them shared a backbone of steel; his twin sister Ember, their father Cutter, and the long-dead Wolfrider chief Bearclaw. Each was capable of facing down someone like Winnowill or a creature like Madcoil. Indeed, they had done so.

He sensed that they felt this was some kind of test, to face the fear they had denied for so long, but there was really no reason they had to prove themselves to him. It was to themselves that they had to prove themselves.

Sunstream studied the twins, so alike, yet so different, to not only themselves but also their parents. Truly, these two were unique. Seaflame shone out boldly as she stood on the wave-pounded shore; the ocean wind tossed her vibrant blue hair, and her violet gaze was unfaltering, eyes shinning with determination in a naturally golden-tan face. Beside her, Crescent's light was softer, and though her pale skin and pearly silver hair had their own uniqueness, her eyes were the same as her twin's. Seaflame would have seemed to outshine her shy sister, but for the glow the pale girl seemed to give off, drawing eyes to her quiet beauty without her intentionally trying to attract attention.

So alike, so different. It was truly amazing. And their strength surprised him. It shouldn't really, but it did. Here they were, asking completely unexpectedly to do the very thing they had avoided their entire lives. Sunstream felt a surge of pride for his daughters.

"We have to know," Crescent repeated in her soft but strong voice, violet eyes shining earnestly. "Please."

Sunstream stepped forward and folded them into his arms. "Of course," he murmured. "If you believe you are ready, then you are." He gave them a last squeeze and stepped back. "When?"

"Now," Seaflame said firmly. "It needs to be now."

Sunstream nodded. "So be it."

000

Minutes later, the three –the twins' mother Brill was under heavy guard by the Wavedancer due to her late stage of her second pregnancy, though she was literally there in spirit-form– were stepping across the threshold of the Palace of the High Ones. Crescent followed their father through the magical barrier holding back the seawater with barely any hesitation whatsoever; she had no qualms about entering for the first time, and it was only because she would not leave her twin under any circumstances –despite urgings and protests by all in the family– that had kept her out of the crystalline vessel for their seventeen years.

Seaflame hung back for a moment, uncertain. She had lived her entire life unwilling and unable to answer the two calls that sang to her, that of the sea, of the World of Two Moons, and that of the stars, the magic of the High Ones. Steeling herself for the strain when the star song increased as she anticipated, she pierced the magical barrier and stepped into the palace.

As soon as she left the water, the young sea-elf blinked. Instead of a strengthening of the call of the stars and a retaliatory heightening of the pull of the sea, both songs faded to a range she was well able to ignore with her experience in dealing with them. In fact, she could not remember the last time they had been so soft she had been able to push them almost entirely from her mind. All her life they had dueled in her head and heart, and, unable to explain to others and loath to tell the such an unbelievable story, she had withdrawn from all except her twin simply to keep her sanity.

For the first time in so long that she could no longer remember, she smiled genuinely. Sunstream frowned slightly, then smiled. He seemed to expect some reaction to the palace's aura –which she could feel as well, quite a separate welcoming, home coming feeling than the more dramatic lessening of the grip stars and sea held– and probably was dismissing her reaction as one of a first-time visitor to the palace.

Then Seaflame looked around, seeing that Crescent was watching with a smile. You feel it even more than I do, she sent to her twin's mind. It was a statement.

The songs have softened, the blue-haired elf replied, just as silently. It's- it's… Words failed her as she turned back to look at the sea, hiding the tears in her eyes. This place was truly wondrous, to work such a miracle that she had longed to be possible for so long. I can't explain, she murmured hesitantly. But I just can't believe I waited this long to come here.

Crescent's violet eyes, mirrors of her own, softened even further. I know. She smiled. So we'll come back?

Definitely, Seaflame assured her, basking in the relief of the song's near absence. She got herself back under control and turned around to flash a smile at her twin, then at her father. The assembled Sunfolk behind, her father's mother's folk, parted suddenly as two impossibly tall, stately figures made their way to the fore.

Timmain, Crescent whispered.

Savah, Seaflame added, just as awed.

Neither of the young elves had ever seen these two, and the sight was striking. Timmain was pale, as their father had shown she always was in sending-pictures, enrobed by her long hair, the silver color of which seemed almost to match the crystal of the palace itself. Savah, Mother of Memory second only to the High Ones herself, wore a golden dress of a light material that seemed to float about her, and highlighted her dark skin. Her hair was hidden beneath the dress's hood and golden crown.

Sunstream, from the sidelines watched his daughters' faces, and suddenly realized they were a near parallel for the two eldest of elves: one fair as the moon, one dark, but no less beautiful. Of course, Seaflame's blue hair was different, and their was a clear discrepancy in height between the pairs. Even still… So alike, so different.

The mother of the Wolfriders and the mother of the Sunfolk stepped forward, smiling. "Welcome at last, children," the pale-skinned immortal said as the two tall elves stretched out their hands to the younger ones in a gesture of welcome. "We have been waiting for the day when you would come to us."

"You are the only two elves now on the World of Two Moons who have not yet entered the Palace of the High Ones," Savah continued. Seaflame blushed, looking aside. "We are glad that you have come." Seaflame noticed the smoothness with which the two most ancient of elves spoke and moved as if they were one being. She wondered briefly what their link was.

"Do you believe that you are ready?" Timmain asked now. "What you will learn today may change the course of history, depending on the actions you take with the knowledge you may be given."

"We believe we are now ready," Seaflame replied for bother herself and her twin, solemn and respectful, her words taking on an almost ritualistic measure to match that of Savah's and Timmain's. "We cannot promise that we will not make a mistake, but we can promise that we will act on the knowledge that you give us only after seeking the wisdom of those who can aid us in making a decision."

"The time may come when there will be no time for counsel," Savah warned. "When a delay may prove disastrous for more than one life."

"Then we shall promise to act with all the wisdom we possess in the interests of all involved," Seaflame said. "Will that be enough?"

Savah and Timmain nodded. "It is all we can ask," the eldest said. "It will have to suffice."

"Come," the ancient elves said in unison, turning away.

Seaflame and Crescent followed. The twins reached out and touched minds for mutual strength and comfort. Those who followed shared the knowledge that this day could shape all their fates– and, perhaps, the fate of the World of Two Moons.