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"Vell," he said. "There's someone I'd like you to meet. This is Lanaal Featherbreeze."

Before him stood a lovely elf maiden, seemingly young in appearance, though Vell was well aware of elf longevity. Her skin was not the coppery tone of most of the elves in the village, but was tinged a rich bronze, and her hair was a cascade of golden curls. She wore a simple green dress and blue feathers in her hair. Something was very different about her-more than just her clothing and skin tone. Vell could sense it. The other elves were naturally slight, but Lanaal seemed light and fresh as a spring breeze.

"I'm very pleased to meet you, Vell," she said, clasping his hand. "We have much to discuss."

"Then you're the one Thanar told me about," he said.

She nodded. "Let us find a quieter spot to talk." She took Vell by the hand and-moving with graceful ease-led him up a ladder to a higher platform. He scanned the gathering one last time and saw Kellin watching him as he vanished into the trees.

Soon they reached Ghostand's highest platform-a terrace among the treetops, where the clear night sky curled above them, and a thousand bright stars shone down on them. Lanaal stood and looked up at it.

"I like to see the sky," she said. "Sometimes I lose track of it, living under the treetops."

"Pardon me for asking," said Vell, "but you're not like the other elves here, are you?"

"No," Lanaal said. "Most of them are wood elves, and I am one of the sun elves. And you, Vell. You're not like the others."

Suddenly self-conscious, Vell turned away. "Not all Uthgardt have blue eyes, though most do."

"I was not speaking of your eyes." Lanaal reached out and touched his face, turning it back toward her. "But tell me about them."

"My mother had brown eyes, and so do I. My tribe has called me Vell the Brown for as long as I can remember. They were rarely cruel, but they never let me forget it either."

Lanaal nodded in understanding. "As a child I climbed to the highest window of my parents' mansion and jumped out, without fear, to the shock of all watching from the street below," said Lanaal with a mysterious smile. "Imagine how shocked they were when an eagle swooped down to stop my fall!

"For me, the body of an elf is an accident of birth. I belong up there, in the open sky. So many decades I spent struggling to cope with this encumbering form. No amount of education could purge the avian spirit inside me. I hated my body, and for many years shunned the company of elves and humans. Only among birds did I feel real peace. I can tell when they're present, and talk with them. Sometimes I think I can even sense their thoughts and feelings. I came here hoping I might find something that would help me keep my sanity. And I did."

"The tree," said Vell.

"A beacon of peace for all who see it." Lanaal smiled. "In its shadow, I have learned that I can take the form of a bird-any bird I know of-from a titmouse to a giant falcon. And when I wear this, my elf form, I feel better about it, for it's my choice. The freedom of transformation saved me. My mind stays the same, regardless of the body it's in, and bird or elf, that body is Lanaal. It took me a long time to realize that."

Vell stayed silent for a time, choosing his words with care. "You say you felt this way from childhood. Do you know why you are this way? Why you?"

Lanaal shrugged. "Perhaps a gift from Aerdrie Faenya, goddess of air. Some have speculated so. Others suspect a kind of throwback to an ancestral elf, something like the avariel, our winged brethren. For me, it matters not."

Vell frowned. "You do not care why you are this way?"

"I don't think a search for meaning would be fruitful," said Lanaal. "I live my life as it is. You will be happier if you do the same."

"But you have always been this way," said Vell. "For me, a change came when the Thunderbeast entered me at Morgur's Mound. It was thrust upon me."

"I did not choose this either," said Lanaal, "but I've learned