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Instantly, as if
in response to that power, a headache began to bloom behind her
eyes. The pain was not intense, but it felt as though it could be
before long. Closing her eyes, she was instantly filled with such
overwhelming awe as she watched a sweeping landscape form in her
inner vision. The mountains rushed up into nothingness, and where
they touched the clouds, watery silver blue foliage rushed down to
mingle with another flower that gave the appearance of fire at the
bottom half of the mountain. The vision was so lovely that Angelica
sighed, feeling like she had come home.
    Finally he retrieved the last gift.
This one had been visible from the moment he turned to them, as it
was a hard item to hide. In his hands Dauin held a large, blue
velvet cloak, embroidered, and lined with a silver material that
looked to be made of the alloy itself. The silver shimmered and
shined in the filtered sunlight, and the fabric seemed to ripple,
as if made of water.
    “This cloak has a long history, one
that I don’t know all of. I only know that at some point your
mother received it from the nymphs in Betikhan Valley. This was
given to her shortly after the Splitting of the World, and it kept
Misha warm on many nights when she was alone and without shelter
from the dastardly northern squalls. As with all the others, I
don’t know if it has anything special about it, and your mother
never mentioned any special feelings from it.” He took the cloak to
Amber, and draped it over her shoulders. “If nothing else, it was a
treasured memento of your mother’s, and I know she would be happy
to have it passed on.”
    As the cloak settled heavily around
Amber’s shoulders, she could feel water lapping on a distant shore.
She felt fluid, as if her spirit could no longer be held within the
confines of her corporeal body. She closed her eyes, and all around
her she could sense, but not see, water … millions and millions of
gallons of water pressing in on her, but not crushing her. Instead
her form shifted and melded with this water as she felt it flow
through her, becoming part of her.
    Slowly she opened her eyes with a
gracious smile. “Thank you, Father. It is a lovely gift.” Looking
down at it surrounding her, it gathered like a small sea at her
feet.
    “Well,” Ashell said standing, “I think
it is time that Grace and I go oversee the preparation of the
meal.”
    Grace nodded her consent and followed
the cook and other servants out of the dining hall leaving Dauin
and his four children alone. “Now, I think it is time that I go
oversee some other arrangements,” their father said mysteriously,
and all of them felt a slight thrill run through their veins. Each
year their father did something special for them, something more
grand than the year before. Each time it was a complete and
somewhat unexpected surprise, and all of them were eager to see
what it could be this year.
    After hugging his children, Dauin left
the dining hall and the attendees soon dispersed. Jovian, Joya,
Amber, and Angelica climbed the stairs to put their gifts
away.
    At the top of the stairs, Amber came to
an abrupt stop, but no one seemed to notice. There was something
different in the air, something powerful. It pulled at her and
thrummed around her, like she was in a large drum, and someone was
outside beating on it. Her whole body seemed to pulse with this
power, and from the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow pass the
other end of the hall, into her father’s room. The power made her
knees ache, limp, but still firm.
    Amber’s breath caught, and she stood
for a moment with her heart racing, drowning out all the sounds of
festivity that wafted through the open windows from
outside.
    She felt lightheaded, and at the same
time completely rooted to the spot at the top of the stairs. Her
blood beat so hard now that flashes began to strike her vision. The
walls seemed to leap out at her, and the floor rushed up to meet
her. Her knees finally gave out, and