<div class="floatright">(http://i.imgur.com/h5Hh0LX.jpg)</div><br/><strong>“Let us waste no time then.” </strong>Nilari said and turned leading the way from the temple and the Matriarch.  Mara took one look at Nirael and nodded, a slight smile on her lips, as if to say she would be fine without him.  A spark of her inner determination showing through in that simple action.  As if being teleported thousands of miles from the only home she’d ever had and having to speak with the leader of an elven tribe was nothing that out of sorts.<br/><br/>Nilari led her daughter and Nirael through the village, and now the women and sparse men did seem more interested.  They even got closer and one or two called out to Nilari, though she simply nodded, not answering their questions as she strode with purpose and conviction.<br/><br/>Following, Lunari let her hand slip down towards Nirael’s and if he allowed it, she took his hand in her own, squeezing it once as a gesture of measurement, though if she was reassuring him, or his presence reassuring her, it was unclear.  She made to turn down a path to the left, but Lunari was heading right, and turned at her daughter’s hesitation, explaining,<strong>“I don’t live there any longer.  Your half sib, Yezela lives there with her lover Inseiasi.  They are hoping that one of the two of them are chosen in the next lottery to be paired with a male for the next cycle.  A house that size shouldn’t belong to a single woman like myself.  I live this way.”</strong><br/><br/>Lunari nodded once and followed her mother again.  Then Lunari leaned in and spoke softly to Nirael explaining,<strong>“My father sired more a few chidren in his time, though I’m not close with any of them overly much.  There are not enough men in our villiage, and as you may expect, our relationships are very… fluid.  Some of the younger men who understand the duty to our people, put themselves in a lottery twice a year, and agree to live in the homes of women that are selected.  From there… well… if nature takes it’s course…”  </strong>Lunari trailed off, leaving Nirael to guess at the exact nature of the sexual and family dynamics beyond what she said.<br/><br/>Then they were before a modest sized dwelling and Nilari gestured to the front door,<strong>“Be welcome daughter and Nirael the mage to my humble home.  Enter as friends and make yourself comfortable while I prepare for the ritual.”</strong><br/><br/>She pushed open the door and ushered the two in.  While there were felled timbers that made up the smoothed and polished wood floor, the walls were much more rugged and unfinished, and several parts of the structure seemed to be made of still living trees that grew up and must extend beyond the height of the home.  The main living are a was populated with a pair of couches and a few chairs, and beyond a table with four chairs set about it that was obviously a dining area.  Nirael could see beyond that a room that held a wooden tub, obviously a bath room, and he suspected a kitchen further back as well.  But immediately to his right upon entering was a curving staircase that led up to a second floor balcony with double doors at the top.<br/><br/>Nilari hung her cloak and sword on a peg by the door and gestured to the bathroom, “<strong>Please refresh yourselves and be comfortable, I will be a little bit to pray to Eilistraee and prepare.  When you are ready, come up stairs to the bedroom and we will begin the ritual.”</strong><br/><br/>With that she ascended the stairs and pushed through the double doors.  Beyond which Nirael could see a hallway, but little else.  Lunari turned to Nirael and sighed, then with a smile joked,<strong>“Last chance to run away.  But if you are not scared, I will be with you.” </strong>The truth was however, there was a look of fear and anxiety on her face that Nirael hadn’t seen before, and he wondered how nervous she must be.<br/>