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"Well, as I live and breathe," Aldrec said, running his fingers over the back of Mericlou's hand that rested on the book "We think alike, Tulyr; this is exactly the one that I was planning on showing you" "It is?" Mericlou asked, looking up froe where she was reading The pages automatically flipped in rapid succession and then stopped at his coraph on the page that he had revealed "Read this"

"'And the Divine roth with his high children and thus passed judgment upon them,'" Mericlou read "'Because ye have bent the world to your oill instead of mine,' spake the voice of the Divine, 'and because ye have chosen to war against my will and purpose, behold, you and all your seed shall be cursed The seed between you shall be changed into the seed of another, and the seed between these two shall be barren, and thus shall this be until ye are no more in this world"

"Do you knohat thisher confusion

Mericlou shook her head, but her expression re?" She said

"It h Elves were the parent race to all the races in this world, with the exceptions of Dragons and androids, of course," Aldrec explained "It s that elves share about humans, or that humans share about androids or vice versa, we're all the same"

"But what does that have to do hat I just read?" Mericlou asked "Besides, isn't this story just a legend? I h elves are only an old myth No one can even find any evidence that they really existed"

"Oh, they existed, all right," Aldrec said, s more broadly than usual, as he closed the book, and then pointed to the writing upon its leather bound cover "Here, read the author's name"

The ancient elven script was faded, and even more difficult to read than the text inside the book Determined, Mericlou slowly and deliberately sounded the name out

"Aldrecliis Orhiinisel Quantelithelis," And then, she slowly looked up from the book, into Aldrec's radiant face

"No …"

"No?" Aldrec said, eyeing her curiously "You can't be … I h elf?" Aldrec said, letting an equally curious grin crease the side of his mouth "Is it really so hard to believe, Tulyr? Think back on the year that we've known each other Think back on all the things that I've told you, all the things that you've known about me"