It was the first time he had come to this magic shop without specific components in mind, but this time he knew only that he would know which components he needed when he arrived. It was a chilly morning with odd-looking clouds that seemed to be trying to hide in the sky, and there was a gentle breeze which made trees rustle quietly. The broken buildings all around the mage apprentice loomed especially ominously in this not-well-traversed alleyway, where there was not much more than a magic shop which most people avoided.

But the scenery was irrelevant. The breeze could have not existed as far as Evelar could tell; the clouds could have hidden like thieves in the sky for all he cared. The buildings could have been gold statues studded with diamonds, and he would not have paid heed to them. Sometimes on mornings after full nights of study like this one, Evelar would make a trip to the magic shop when it first opened, seeking to replace one component or several which were running low. However, this time no specific component needed to be replaced.

It was not until Evelar was inside that he began to grow aware of the atmosphere. His awareness grew at times in which he was in potential danger, and magic was certainly dangerous. The detect hidden spell he placed on himself saw to it that he was aware of most threats before they reached him, and so he learned to disregard such pitifully uninteresting things as scenery quickly after he learned the spell.

There was nobody in the lower level of this two-story building, but it was likely almost to the point of certainty that the shop was warded against theft. However, theft was the farthest thing from Evelar's mind as he browsed the bins and containers, disregarding the potent odors some of them gave off.

There was a sudden burst in him, a painful sort of ecstacy that some spells produced. It started in his chest and unmercifully surged through him in moments, then left his body and surrounded him in a layer around his skin. Spells for detecting magic were sometimes passive, alerting only when significant quantities of specified magic were near. In this case, Evelar had casted only the spell he always used here, a spell which detected extremely potent components. But there was something odd about the way it tingled: It signified that this pure component was outside of the dusty, confined shop.

Evelar patiently made his way to the window, the seemingly-living logic in his mind instantly reporting to him that haste was always dangerous and a bad calculated risk. Looking out of a boarded window through a partial opening between two pieces of rotten wood, the magical detection almost blurred his senses with its sudden determination, fiercely compelling him to look outside.

A small dragon shadow was all he could see, thrown against the battered walls of almost-fallen buildings. Surely, Evelar thought, the detect hidden spell would alert him of a dragon trouncing about. All dragons were dangerous, not just the metallic ones. On this side of the moon, a mage's only ally was his spellbook. Sometimes, even that would betray him.

A quick mental calculation concluded that a chance at this wonderful component which set the mage apprentice's senses on fire was worth the risk of taking a closer look at the dragon. It was purely surprise, however, when Evelar casted pass door and looked cautiously through the door. Only an elven girl walked down the alley, and a small one at that. However, the detection spell still held him brutally, and suddenly the mismatch became apparent.

From the especially fragile-looking elf came the shadow of a dragon. Immediately, Evelar knew three components which he most certainly must purchase.

A chill wind brushed past Shadra's cheek as she entered the dark, ominious allyway. Had she not been here on a mission from the ancient elven sage himself, she would have turned back immediately. She couldn't imagine what manner of person would take their puppy down such an ally and then be so careless as to lose it. Perhaps it had been a wrong turn, she thought to herself. She had almost convinced herself it was when the soft whine of puppy drifted towards her, from somewhere deeper into the ally.

Whispering a short prayer for protection, Shadra shook herself, trying to break free of the cold fear that gripped her, and walked further into the ally. The broken buildings looming on both sides of her reminded her of the gaping maws of her ancestors, rising up to consume her. She shivered violently and wanted very badly to run away.

Most of the buildings on either side of her seemed deserted but there was a faint, cloying smell spilling into the ally. As she neared one particular doorway it grew stronger and she was releaved when she could scurry past it and away from the clutches of the rotten stench. The puppy whined again, louder and Shadra hurried towards the noise.

In her haste, Shadra stumbled and fell to her knees, scraping them on the uneven cobblestones. Tears rose to her eyes in response to the pain but she swallowed them back, for she saw the object of her quest cowering in a corner before her. The pain and suffering of the small, innocent creature bolstered her courage and Shadra scooped it up into her arms, cooing softly to the frightened animal.

Busy tending to the animal, Shadra didn't notice the shadowy presence which drifted out of the shop to gaze upon her unprotected back. The hairs on the back of her neck began to rise and she felt a burning, malevolent sensation boring into the back of her head. Though she didn't know the source of the unease, she knew she wasn't capable of standing against it. The bright daylight could be seen a few feet in front of her, where the ally broke way into a busy main street and Shadra fled towards it, the puppy safely clutched in her arms.

It was an elegantly carved piece; oak, it looked like. However, it was really something much more. Unbreakable, for one thing, if the books were correct. Evelar found no reason to doubt them thus far, but his logic reasoned that it only took one misleading piece of information to destroy otherwise well-laid plans. But there were plenty of things either unbreakable or nearly so, and that was not what interested Evelar, though he did take special note of it and file it in his memory.

He laid the artifact on the ground and casted a common teleportation spell, sending it somewhere random on the continent of Althainia. To the mage apprentice, it was little more than a piece of unbreakable wood; at least, that was all it was at the moment. The spells casted on it were not yet activated, but they would be soon. Whoever happened to "come across it," however, would not find a piece of wood, but a magical creature of sorts. There was only one person who would come across it, and Evelar already knew what he would ventriloquate when that person found the small artifact.

He stood in a room of the Bouncing Bugbear, a place adequately private and roomy to him. Suddenly there came a small tug, not unlike that of a fishing rod, which told Evelar that it was time to begin. He silently allowed the light charge of magic to flow through him, then whispered what he wanted the artifact to say.

The artifact pleaded to the elf to take it to the place of its creation before its imminent demise. It begged her through the innocent voice which was enchanted into it to take it to the Bouncing Bugbear, which now covered the exact spot the artifact was made. Evelar had another, more painful backup plan, for both he and the creature he sought, should this one fail, but it did not. When the elven girl arrived in the room, he studied her. The dragon shadow faded easily into the shadows in the room, but parts of it were still visible. This was obviously the one.

She looked started at first when she saw him, then asked unsteadily who he was. "I," Evelar said, "am the one who created that artifact." The girl looked at the mage apprentice in confusion. He--no, the artifact-- told her that it was older than Algoron. She must have been confused about that. No matter, Evelar was confident at this point that she was too naive to question him further than when she asked shakily, "You are older than Algoron?"

For now, Evelar only had to lie until she agreed to the spell. It would be easier than Evelar expected, he knew for sure, as she desparately asked how to save the carved oaken dragonscale from death. He only had to make her hold the thing and say the words "sala ranth ie," which translated to "I am yours." However, the elf had to know what she was doing while she said it, and she had to believe absolutely in it, which presented a problem.

"You must do what the dragon scale tells you to," Evelar said from beneath his hooded cloak. There was little chance she would recognize him, but he did not dare take any chances this close to victory. "But beware, you must be willing to do everything the dragonscale asks you to. If you hesitate or falter, it ends the lives of both you and the artifact." She nodded, eyes wide with wonder it seemed.

Evelar told the elf that she must do what the artifact told he to, that it knew how to save its own life. Another light charge of magic flowed through the apprentice, and the artifact said in a weak voice, "Just tell me you will help me. I will do the rest."

"What little I have to give, I give unto the salvation of this strange creature I hold in my hands." The elf was now moments away from springing the trap.

"It is not a creature," Evelar said. "Call it by its name, Salaranthi." The elf was about to ask something, but acquiesced instead and said the name. That was when the power hit him. It felt as if he were in a gale of bricks, pummeling away at his mind. Knowing that he could not answer this foolish girl's questions and battle her at the same time, he bid her in a tight voice to concentrate on the artifact.

Struggling to stay conscious, Evelar reached into his numerous pouches, mixing together various spell components, and sprinkled the powdery result over the girl. Chanting words of magic and struggling to keep composure, eventually Evelar felt the gale dissipate and fade into nothing. The dragoncharm spell was complete. She was his.

The only remaining step was for the girl to voluntarily give the dragonscale artifact back to Evelar. Once again employing ventriliquation, she soon surrendered the piece to him. Then, Evelar released the magic. The oaken color became a solid black, and the elf's lower lip began to quiver in pain. "Is it done?" She asked in a small voice, and Evelar assured her that it would be soon. She commented on its evil color, and Evelar responded that it was in pain. Her eyes were slowly clouding over, forming a look familiar to the magic user. It was quiet agony, something the elf was feeling but did not want to share. There would be more of that, before this was over. And he would learn all of her secrets, in time.

Pulling his hood down, Evelar decided to begin prodding her limits. Affecting a look of sympathy, he said, "It is not over yet, but it will be soon." She had fallen to the ground, eyes watering. Perhaps if he were more sympathetic, Evelar would have offered her kind words. Instead, he said, "It is better if you stand." Standing would cause her unbearable pain, but he wanted to see if indirect commands such as that one worked. It turned out that they did not, so he decided to drop the facade soon and begin commanding her in earnest.

She had started screaming, and the noise was beginning to become irritating. A slight tingle flashed through the mage apprentice and sank into the ground, producing a mushroom and a small spring on the inn floor. Evelar said that the pain would go away after eating and drinking, and the elf quickly did so. Then, after a moment to catch her breath, she used the wall to struggle onto her feet.

Then, her teeth began to chatter as if cold, and she rubbed her arms to get warm. She turned her big, innocent eyes to Evelar and asked in a scared voice, "What is happening to me?" There was a smirk on Evelar's face when he replied, "Why, only what you agreed to."

Teeth chattering, she asked whether the mage meant saving the scale. The mage confirmed her question, but he still wore the self-satisfied smirk on his face.

The elf began to ask why she felt so strange, but Evelar cut her off, responding, "You cannot question magic. What is, is."

As the elf's suffering stopped, a final assault battered Evelar. The sudden surge of energy nearly killed him, and he knew by the look on the elven girl's face that he was not able to completely conceal his strain. The dragoncharm was not supposed to be this hard to control, this deadly to perform. It was, after all, meant for use on dragons in times of peace; that was the reason that it required the dragon's acceptance to work. However, Evelar expected some deviations from how things were supposed to work, since he was sly in his work. Still, this was more resistance than he expected, especially after he was supposed to have owned her will. If the entire time would be like this, the calculated risk would outweigh any benefit he could recieve.

But there had to be something he was doing wrong to promote this kind of unconcious struggle. He would tell her the truth, and see if that stopped it. After he fought down the surge of power, Evelar angrily said, "You are very strong, girl... Very strong." The elf looked surprised at his sudden transformation as he continued, "But now you will tell me about your shadow."

Teeth chattering, the elf managed to ask what Evelar meant, and he moved his rainbow staff over her, throwing her dragon shadow against the wall. She looked ready to faint, then feebly tried to dodge out of the light, but Evelar's ordered "stay" froze her in place. Face eerily blank, Evelar said both softly and dangerously, "Tell me."

And now, Evelar was able to drop his mask. The elf tried to lie, but Evelar said flatly, "Stop being cold. Tell me again about your shadow." The irony was almost amusing, that this girl who almost killed him was now so easy to control. "Where is your strength now?" He asked, in a state just short of bitter amusement.

She denied having strength. He almost killed her.

She did not realize how close to death she was. He would show her how close she was. "You almost killed me," Evelar said in his flat, cold, calculating voice. "How would you have felt to have murdered me?"

She looked like a fish as she gaped for words, babbling her denial. "I asked you a question," Evelar said. He paid no mind to how flat and empty he felt inside, how boring even this was. Some of him wished for death. All of him wanted to hurt her.

At Evelar's order, the elf stood like a puppet. The mage apprentice doubted he would get the slightest amusement from her pain, but there was no reason to deny his instinct. His logic told him so.

Who knows, perhaps he could even learn something.

After returning the puppy to a happy reunion with its owner, Shadra returned to the elven grove. She hardly noticed the elven-babble around her, she had learned to ignore it. When she stopped trying to understand the meaning, it sounded like a soft, melodic symphony. Shadra felt momentarily envious and struggled to contain the emotion. It was unbecoming.

Finding a quiet spot in the grove, Shadra sat, lotus-style, and started to go through her daily meditations. She had barely begun when a strange feeling of restlessness came over her. Shadra fought down the urge to begin pacing and took a series of deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves. It was that alleyway... She couldn't get that feeling of intense hatred out of her mind.

After several hours of struggle, Shadra finally gave up and stood, stretching. She longed for the feel of the winds rushing past her face as she glided through the airs. Her shoulder blades ached, as if they were still attached to wings that were longing to stretch just as she stretched her arms and legs. Shadra sighed softly, knowing her thoughts were not doing her any good.

"I need a walk." She declared to the breeze.

Leaving through the north gates of the city, Shadra sought the beach which she had so often visited when Rikkiri and Wyrenth were often at her side. She wondered briefly what had happened to the pair, wishing them luck and happiness wherever they had roamed. When she reached the edge of the sand, she took of her sandles and let her toes sink into the soft sand. She had not gone very far when her toe suddenly stubbed against something hard.

Surprised, Shadra found a piece of carved wood, half submerged in the sand. Kneeling down, she brushed the sand away picked it up. She would have discarded it as driftwood, except it was too perfectly formed. It looked like a large, carved-wooden scale. Pondering this mystery, Shadra soon had another.

"Can you hear me?" A soft voice said in the back of her head. Shadra started, nearly dropping the scale. As unlikely as it was, Shadra felt the voice was coming from the scale.

"Wha... what? Hello?" Shadra whispered.

"Yes, it is the scale." The voice assured her patiently.

"What.. are you?" Shadra asked, admiring the quality of the carving.

"I'm not a carving. I am older than Algoron."

"How.. how can you talk?"

"We are similiar creatures, aren't we?"

"Why are you here, on the coast?" Shadra asked, ignoring the pointed question.

"I am dying." It said, simply.

"Ca..can I .. help?"

The scale was silent for a time. Shadra wasn't sure if it was considering her question or dead. She resisted the urge to shake it.

"Yes. You can take me back to the place I was made. Do you know of the inn, the Bouncing Bugbear?"

Shadra shook her head and then remembered the scale didn't have eyes and probably couldn't see her. "No, I have not been there. Can you guide me?"

A series of images filled Shadra's mind, and she saw where she was supposed to go. Setting out at once, Shadra was soon at the gates of the city. It was loud and the square was busier than usual. Dodging past a group of shoppers, Shadra found the inn and stepped inside. As she crossed the threshold, she heard a soft hiss from the scale.

"Yess.. this is the place. Hurry."

With the scale urging her on, Shadra found herself in a small, cozy room facing a hooded figure. She felt a slight shiver course through her, and felt the urge to hide the scale quickly. She couldn't see the eyes beneath the figure's hood, so she couldn't tell if he'd seen it. When he spoke, Shadra felt that she should flee. Though his voice was soothing and smooth, beneath it Shadra heard something which reminded her of the encounter in the alleyway, earlier today. Then she felt the scale in her hands. It had guided her here and it needed her help. She had promised to help it.

The moment the man completed his arcane spell, Shadra knew something was wrong. His movements and accent reminded him of another man's deception.. another spell. Terror gripped her. What would she be forced to endure now? Clinging to a faint hope, Shadra continued to question the mysterious figure, hoping the truth would turn out to be much better than she thought.

She was wrong, of course.

Once the spell had completely gripped her, the man dropped his facade completely. By then it was too late, it didn't matter. She was his, and she knew it before he uttered the words. When he pressed her about her nature and her past, she tried to avoid the questions, but she had no skill in lying. Her attempts to avoid his questions were clumsy at best.

Most of his questions baffled her, she hardly understood why any of it was important. He was paranoid, frightenning. Why did he think she knew so much? Why did he insist that she had more to tell him? She saw murder in his eyes, and wracked her brain for more information to feed him, to appease his angry soul. Nothing came to her lips.

His continued insistance that she had some sort of secret, magical powers were what confused her most. Had dragons and softlings grown so apart that the human couldn't even discover a basic knowledge of their power? She had little time for thought with his will pressing down on hers.

He uttered a few words and a vertical floating disc appeared in the air.

"Hurl all your magic at that disc." He commanded.

"I don't have any magic." Shadra said dispairingly, staring at the disc blankly.

"Do it anyway." He said, unyielding.

Shadra stared at the disc until her eyes began to water. Irrational human, she thought sadly. His mind has been softened by his wicked magics. Thankfully, he soon grew bored of watching her stare at the disc and banished it, this particular experiment finished. Again he insisted she had magic and demanded that she stop keeping secrets.

After an exhausting series of seemingly random questions, Shadra knew that the spell binding her to his will had finally dissipated. She wanted to dance with joy, but she dared not incite him so. She knew she could escape him, if she really tried... Someone would come for her, if she called.. Yet..

Shadra has been studying him as intensely as he had been questioning her. There was something in his eyes and his voice that drew her to him. His emotionless eyes both chilled her and attracted her. Why did he hide his emotions, how did he learn to do it so thoroughly? Shadra felt that the answer to this was the key to unlocking them and setting his soul free from the evil which twisted it.

Her only choice was to stay. Whether he knew the spell was broken and was surprised that she remained, she couldn't tell from his posture or manner. Shadra was certain his fascination with her would preserve her through the meeting. When she learned of the true extent of her binding with the artifact that now floated around her like a sentinel, Shadra would begin a hard lesson.

He had become frustrated with her. Shadra could tell she was not providing him with the answers he desired. His face remained devoid of emotion yet his questions became more rapid and his manner more intent. If the acid in his voice could take life and fill the room, Shadra was certain they would both be dead a hundred times over for each word he spoke. There was no end to his capacity for malice.

And all of it was now directed towards her.

He had determined that she should hate him, because she declared she would not. He sneered as she offered him her compassion and her pity. When she told him she already forgave him, his eyes flashed murderously. Shadra wanted to tremble with fear and hide, but she continued to hold strong to her faith. It troubled him, she felt.

Suddenly, he plucked the charm from the air, amusing himself by making it yelp faintly in her head "Help me!" Shadra felt a chill run through her as his hands grasped it, but it was more than cold fear. It was the touch of his cold, lifeless hands as if they were touching her skin. He started to talk again, but she wasn't paying attention, concentrating on masking the emotion as his hands turned red hot, causing the charm to smoke.

Cringing, Shadra hissed between her teeth. The heat felt as if it was consuming her from within, an intense warmth in the pit of her stomach. "Please, stop." She whispered between clenched teeth. Evelar continued to heat the scale, until flames danced along its surface.

"Why?" He asked, his face as calm and composed as ever. He hardly blinked as Shadra lunged towards him, trying to knock the scale from his hands. "If you burn yourself, I will not be held accountable." He said with a smirk.

Shadra screamed.

Evelar glared at the charm in his hands and the flames roared higher, nearly touching the ceiling. Whimpering, Shadra again begged him to douse the flames.

"It is not alive. Why do you feel for it? It is an object." He pointed out coldly, still not comprehending the nature of the trinket in his hands. Calmly, he urged the flames brighter, until they turned blue, then white.

The flame undulated through Shadra's body like waves of pure anguish and she fell to the floor, a tormented scream torn from her throat. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her vision began to turn as black as the flames were white. Tiny pin-prick stars were born and died in the hazy-darkness of her impaired sight. The pain continued, seeming as if it would never end for the helpless girl as Evelar watched in fascination, realizing the prize he held in his hands.

After an eternity of quiet pondering, a mixture of annoyance at her screams, which had turned into anguished whimpers that escaped from her raw throat, and his cold, calculating logic which told him he ought not kill her so soon after discovering the properties of the charm, Evelar doused the flames with an agonizing slowness.

"Interesting to know." He observed dryly, smirking. Shadra could only mumble incoherently as the heat, real and imagined, drained from her body, leaving her a cold, shivering bundle on the floor. She curled in a ball, mimicking a fetal position.

As if that would save her.

"What are you thinking right now?" Evelar asked, dangerously calm. He could hurt her more, if he wanted to. It would be very easy, now that he knew the dragon scale was capable of it.

But it was not the time for that. He would be able to continue later, if he wanted to, but now there was an artifact to study. She was lying on the ground now, pitiful to look at. It was an improvement to the screaming, however, so Evelar let her be for a moment.

She slowly began to regain her composure, scrapping together what strength Evelar was surprised to see she had. Struggling to sit up, the elf said with as much calm as she could manage, "I am thinking that I must find a way to separate you from that charm."

So she still is afraid, Evelar thought. But perhaps only of pain. It still might do. "Perhaps there is a radius to its effects," he said. It was a test that was confirmed by the sudden terror in her eyes. There was no question as to whether the the artifact really did have a radius--it would almost definitely not work if she were out of sight, as was true with nearly all spells-- but Evelar was looking for holes which he could use to control her now.

Since the dragoncharm spell lost its effect, it was becoming harder for Evelar to guide this meeting the way he expected it to go. It was not exactly defiance, but there was something which denied him the answers he sought, the answers she was keeping from him on purpose.

But she knew. She had to know, to hide them from him so well. She knew exactly what he wanted, and she was playing games. Evelar did not like games, especially not from his research subjects. He decided that he would play by her rules; he would play this game, and he would win it.

She looked scared, so very scared, that it might just be a hole into her personality. Into her mind. More friendly, now, but also more dangerous in a way, Evelar said, "You are holding so much back." She looked more frightened. "I tried to be nice... I went out of my way." More. Enough.

"Now I am inside," the mage announced.

The words were not directed at her, Shadra knew. There was the barest hint of satisfaction in his tone - He was good at masking it. He thought he had broken her. Her body felt limp with relief and she bowed her head, staring at the floor.

If he thinks I am broken, Shadra thought, he will not think I am hiding anything. Her tired, baffled mind ached for relief. Mental nerves still screamed with the memory of never-ending fire. When he is done, he'll kill me Shadra thought numbly.

"Why aren't you afraid?" He had asked. It seemed like years ago now, but only a few hours had passed since she came across the charm.

"What do I have to fear?" Shadra had responded honestly.

"I could kill you right now." He threatened.

Shadra wanted to laugh. Fear death? "You would be sending me to my Goddess." She had smiled serenely, knowing it would infuriate him more.

Now that he had the ability to torture her limitlessly, Shadra had to be more careful. He had worn her down with the pain. Was she broken? She felt dispair as she never had before. He had seen into the emptiness of her heart and soul. She was incomplete, he liked to remind her.

He asked another question. She mumbled a response, watching him closely under lidded eyes. What was he waiting for? She had no more secrets.

"You look frightened." He said softly.

Sweat trickled down her back and covered her face in a soft sheen. She wiped at it with her sleeve before she responded. "Yes, I fear a pain that cannot end. Who wouldn't?"

"It will end, eventually. It always does." He responded with a smirk.

For a brief moment, Shadra thought he meant to kill her immediately, ending the pain. Instead of relief she felt coldness. Defiance rose up against dispair. Fought. Won. Understanding followed.

Shadra shook her head sadly.

"Are you sad? Explain." Evelar's sharp eyes noticed the movement immediately.

"What a sad, hard life you must have led, to lead you down this path. It is a pity." Shadra told him.

He smirked again.

"I hate to see another being in pain." Shadra continued.

"In pain? I think you are confused. You were the one in pain." He taunted.

"Your soul is an ugly, blackened thing. It has been eaten away into shreds by the conscience you choose to ignore. You may not feel it now, but you will atone, either by choice or in death, some day." Shadra wondered if she saw emotion in his eyes or if she was imagining it. Was she right? He was hiding - pain, fear, anger.. Shadra was convinced it had clouded his mind.

He made an abrupt gesture. Shadra cringed. He smiled, sickenning in its insincerity.

"I'm not going to kill you yet. You're still too valuable. I'll find out what more this charm will do, then we will convene again."

"Perhaps I shall agree to meet with you again." Shadra secretly felt elation. She was certain she had struck a nerve. Confidence replaced dispair and she felt she could break him free of the mental prison he'd constructed.

"I know enough about you to know that you would not disagree to another meeting. You have some pathetic Silver ideas."

Shadra could only smile faintly and shrug.

The door closed.

He had been so sure that he had seen it, wide open, and that he would find what she was hiding, but it closed. So she was not broken, after all. She could heal her spirit, somehow.

There was something keeping her alive.

But what?

With all of his knowledge, all of the effort he made to obtain it, he could find no answer. This might be the secret that he was looking for. She was taunting him now, but it was foolish of her. She should know that. He could teach her, but there was no point. She could heal her spirit.

But still, there was nothing. No answer. Why was there no answer?

There were always answers. There always had to be answers. It was logical that each problem had a solution, and so he only had to find it. But for the first time in his life, Evelar could not think of what to do. He would have to think about it.

So he dismissed her. She would agree to return, of that he was certain. It was her sudden "self," the posture she suddenly took, the look in her eyes, that told him she would return. It could even be that he was feeding this, somehow. Again, he would have to think about it.

But what was there to think about? And how did one go about pondering? Weren't answers supposed to be instant? Wasn't he supposed to know all these things?

For the first time since he killed his father, Evelar realized that he still had a weakness.

And he considered destroying this one, too.