Her mother, Rachael, was burning the midnight oil in her office as Limelenath slept. The offices were on the main floor of the building and what amounted to an efficiency apartment was upstairs. The sun porch at the back was Melly's favorite perch. She could hear the songs of the winds and trees even in the dead of winter. Being a half-elf, the nine year old wasn't as susceptible to cold as most children. It was her place, her corner of the universe. It was far from the treehouse in Mellor, where she spent her summers, but it was the closest thing to it in the city. The glassed in room afforded a view of some evergreen trees behind the building and if she sat on the sill, she could look down into the garden patio of the restaurant next door.

Unlike her younger cousin, Mairead, who spoke the languages of most animals, Limelenath, spoke to the plants and trees that grew around her. It was the heritage of her father's people, the elves, that had encouraged and brought forth that gift.

For those that could hear them, the trees began to whisper, a warning, perhaps? The sensation of something being amiss. A small glow of light came from an object on a night table. It was not a candle or flashlight that had been left there to light the pages of a book that had also been left on the table. The light flickered and dimmed as the child stirred in her sleep. Melly's dreams were filled with treks through the woods. Her elven grandfather had been teaching her to hunt with a bow and arrow. Those lessons and warmth of his company filled her unconscious thoughts. She slept peacefully without a worry as children often did.

In her dreams, Melly encountered a hideous beast. It looked like a bear whose skin had been flayed. When its maw opened for the growl to escape, the girl saw a spinning hole. It was like the black holes she'd learned about in her science class with her tutor. The bear beast was on its hind legs and sending a huge paw at her grandfather. The elderly elf went flying into the side of a tree. The girl's fingers trembled as she nocked the arrow and aimed it. When the beast turned to face her, she prayed that her courage wouldn't fail and that her unsteady knees wouldn't buckle. "I'm not your dinner today," she muttered and drew back on the bowstring. The bear kept coming. When he roared again, his breath was foul like something that had crawled out of the pits of the deepest circle of hell. Her emerald eyes squeezed shut as she loosed the arrow into the creature's gut. It slowed in its movements, but didn't stop. Terrified, Melly made for the nearest tree and climbed. Full grown bears couldn't climb, she hoped that the creature planning to eat her couldn't either! She could feel its breath on her heels as she climbed higher.

In the waking world, the glowing light on the night table sparkled like a bright moon. Unlike the child, it had been awakened. A small bit of magic, just a small bit, but wrapped within the tiny ornament, was the love of the grandmother that had fashioned it. While the Khul-din went about feeding, the light formed into the shape of guardian that had granted light. There was the sound of a horse whickering, but it was a ghostly noise.

In her dreams, Limelenath heard a familiar voice. "This is your dream, your world. You are its champion." She shuddered and stared down at the beast. Hand over hand like one might a ladder, she climbed up the branches. When she reached a branch that was steady and thick enough to hold her weight, she locked her legs around it. The beast had started to climb. She screamed, but all anyone in the waking world would have heard was a strangled cry. She tried another arrow, but the creature had climbed too high to get a clean shot. Blindly, she searched her belt for hunting knife her grandfather had given her on her last birthday. Another roar and the sound of a thick jaw snapping came from just under her feet. Her breathing was ragged, she wanted to cry out for help, but her mother hadn't come that day.

It had taken a while for her grandmother's voice to sink into the mind of the terrified girl. She thought, I'm not alone. I never will be. Her fingers curled around the knife as the bear snapped at her feet. She swept the knife downward as she silently offered a prayer to Elbereth for her aim to be true. The swing was blind, but the tree began to bend. Her father's mother was a treesinger. The trees had answered the prayer if Elbereth had not. The knife went through the bear's skull. The hilt broke from the blade, but it had been enough. When tree moved again, the bearlike beast lay at its roots. Dead. Limelenath remained in the safety of the tree's branches. It her dream, she slept.

In the waking world, the ghostly unicorn stood watch over its charge.

When the morning sun filtered through the glass, it wakened the nine year old. She batted at her ear thinking that one of the dogs was licking at her. The dogs weren't there. In her half waking state, she finally batted away the piece of the Khul-din's tongue that remained on her. Hearing the slap of something meeting the floor, she leaned out of her bed to get a better look. It was too big to have been an insect that managed to slip through window cracks. Melly's face twisted into an expression that was a mix of curiosity, disgust, and fear. "MAMA!" she cried out. This time, she had a voice!

Her mother answered her call with a thick piece of firewood in hand. It was the first thing she could grab. "What is it, Melly?" Rachael's voice was weary. She had been preparing real estate documents for a client's will.

The girl hadn't gotten out of bed. She was just pointing the floor to her side. "I....I don't know what that is!! It was on me!!" her voice trembled.

Before Rachael got to her daughter's side, she found something or, maybe, it would have been better to have thought of it as someone else. Unlike the reaction some might have had, Rachael MacLeod's was one of pity. Whatever the creature was, it was dead. There was something childlike about it. As she went to comfort her own child and take her inside, she found herself wondering whose son or daughter that creature had once been. Was someone still looking for them'

Once Melly was settled, Rachael made arrangements with her sister to take care of the body. Cremation, most likely, was the best choice. Even in death, it was clear to the empathic woman that the Khul-din had suffered more most would in a hundred lifetimes.

Serine received Arthour Chazore's letter and quickly sprang into action. She quickly began work on some ideas on how to detect the Myr'Khul and penned her own letter to Rakeesh Sah Tarna.

Greetings.

I would first like to extend my thanks to you for alerting us to the Khul-din threat - any being that preys on children certainly requires swift reprisal, and your supplying us with the heads of several will no doubt be of great help in learning how to stop them. If it would be no trouble, I would like the opportunity to pose several questions to you regarding how you came into their possession in hopes that the knowledge can further my own research. Please let me know if you are able. I can be reached quite easily through the Academy of Bristle Crios, as well as through their Mage House.

Humbly, Serine Delin

Serine eagerly sent her final conclusions on detection methods to Rakeesh Sah Tarna and Arthour Chazore in the hopes that her findings may be used against the Myr'Khul.

After much research and lab testing, I've come to the conclusion that several types of detection methods would be appropriate for the Myr'Khul intruders. Some methods would not be beneficial, such as room air changes, since the Myr'Khul open windows and doors to gain entrance, negating the readings of the heat and pressure changes in the room. As a result, I think direct sensors to detect the intruder itself would be advantageous. Some of these could be used throughout the house, to alert the guards to the intruder's presence, before it even gets to the child's room.

Aestus Estus Crystals magically sense body heat. As an intruder walks by the crystal, the temperature at that point will rise from room temperature to body temperature, and then back again. This change triggers the detection. In case the suspected intruder does not give off ?human' levels of body heat, the temperature can be changed to reflect higher or lower heat levels in the amount of mana that enchants the crystals.

Lux Trabem Beams detect the presence of an intruder by transmitting invisible light beams across an area from a glowing gem. Any thing obstructing the beams at any time would trigger the alarm. These would prove ineffective if the intruder could see in the invisible light spectrum and knew to avoid them entirely.

Trepidatio Inertiae Boxes are mounted on windows and doors to alert when they have been disturbed. One small box needs to be mounted to the door or window and another box must be mounted next to the other on the wall. When movement or vibration occurs, as if the door or window was opened, the unstable portion of the box moves and the magical connection of the two boxes break, which produces an alarm.

Inpulsus Grabattum Mats work by magically sensing a change of weight over their area. They could easily be disguised as simple floor mats and placed on the floor of the child's bed. They could also be enchanted to match the child's weight and placed under the mattress. It would ignore the weight of the child, but quickly alarm when anything else was on the bed with the child.

It is my hope that you may be able to take this research and use it in the field in order to protect more children. I am hopeful that in the detection of the Khul-din, it may lead to the apprehension of more, dead or alive, to provide further opportunities for experimentation on them to find and exploit their weaknesses.

Humbly, Serine Delin

The press gathered for a meeting in the Old Temple District, not far from its Baronial Manor. Rakeesh Sah Tarna was there, ready to speak to the public about the Old Temple District's problems with Khul-din demons for the first time in quite a while. He began speaking, in his deep and noble tone, while cameras flashed and reporters raised their microphones to retrieve audio of his words. "People of Rhy'Din, and my friends within the Old Temple District; today, I bring you good, if wary, news about the threat that has resided here and caused much suffering. After four nights of careful planning, hunting, trapping and battle - I have slain the remaining Khul-din demons that were terrorizing children in the district. Based on the results of magical searches from my allies in this matter, we are certain that no Khul-din still lives within the district."

There was a cacophony of discussion amongst the reporters then, and more cameras flashed. One of them, a young, proud looking man with raven hair stepped forward and asked over the din and murmers of the others, "How did you do this" Were any children harmed during your hunt?"

Rakeesh answered, raising both hands to calm the crowd, "No children were injured over the past four nights of action. Thanks to the Mage House of Bristle Crios, and particularly Serine Deline, we were able to develop a number of safeguards and traps for the Khul-din. Particularly useful was a charm known as the Aestus Estus Crystal, which I adapted to release an ultra-violet sticky-gas that would make the demons visible when they triggered the trap. With the aid of families all around Old Temple, we set these traps to detect when a Khul-din entered a child's room. The Aestus Estus magics would summon me to the room when a Khul-din entered, and one-by-one, I would face the Khul-din and slay them. These crystals were also modified to release a peaceful sleep magic so that the would-be-victims would not awaken and be terrorized by these monsters. I am proud to say that, despite some interior damage to several local homes, no child was harmed - and I have personally dealt with the remaining Khul-din. They can harm no one now, and I have encouraged families suffering from property damage to seek aid from the Rhy'Din Shield Association, a charity organization supported by all of the major dueling teams in Rhy'Din. Are there any other questions?"

"Rakeesh!", a middle-aged female reporter called out, much of her face hidden behind a pair of over-sized sunglasses. "What of the children that were allegedly possessed by the Khul-din" Are they still a threat to themselves, or others?"

The liontaur answered after a moment of thought, "I cannot be sure, effendi. I do not believe so. My allies and I believe that the children were freed of their possession when their Khul-din masters were slain. However, I will continue to keep my eye on the situation, and if you see any suspicious behavior - it is best to contact one of the local churches in the District, or myself. A simple - if harrowing - exorcism, at this point, would be enough to free any children that might still be suffering the affects of continued Khul-din attacks."

An angry, older reporter called out then, interrupting, "Why did it take you so long" If you knew this threat was so serious, why has it been months before you did anything about it?"

Rakeesh answered immediately, his tone contemplative and filled with some regret, "When I first learned of this threat, I took decisive action. That action, and my proposal, inadvertently caused innocents to be harmed. I swore to myself and this city that I would continue to work until this problem was solved, and with the help of my allies at Bristle Crios, I am proud to say that our patience and dedication to protecting the Old Temple District paid off. In the past four nights, I have slain twenty-three Khul-din demons, the entire stock that terrorized this district. In those nights, no children were harmed and none awoke to see the horror of the demons who would have fed on them and their dreams. Our patience made that possible, and I only hope that it is enough - along with my sincerest apology - to make amends for my rash actions and first attempt to deal with this grave threat. That is all."

Reporters continued to call out questions and take pictures, but the liontaur turned away from the podium with one last wave out to the public, and spoke a word; a moment later, he was gone, having left the Old Temple District with headline-worthy news.