Normal for the season, a heavy rain fell upon the roof of the West End Manor. It was a cleansing rain that would fall for hours, washing away the stench and bring new life to the city. The streets outside the shuttered windows of Belial?s room were quiet, nothing but the sound of the constant downpour on the cobblestone streets below. It was early in the morning, hours before the sun would try to peek through the clouds over the horizon. Most of the city was sound asleep. Even the darker denizens that prowled the night were indoors, having sought shelter from the weather. The silence in the room was broken with the slight creak of wood from the polished mahogany floor beneath the drow?s feet. The dim candlelight in the room did little to push back the darkness or to assuage Welverin's unease. Overhead, the sound of the rain seemed to grow louder, more ominous as the drow felt the darkness close in around him. He paced slowly, his steps barely audible with the exception of a random protest from the floor boards below his bare feet.

His mind was racing, in a state of turmoil as he tried to sort out events past and present. It seemed the only thing he was close to being sure about now was Belial. He paused in his pacing near one window. His azure eyes found her form, naked and half clad with a light sheet. She was in a state deep slumber curled up in the bed she shared with him. Shadows cast from the flickering candlelight danced over those perfect curves. She was so peaceful when she slept. Her tail flicked unconsciously under the silken sheet with a life of its own, most likely a subconscious reaction to some pleasant dream. The thought caused the corner of his ebon lips to curve upward into a momentary smile. He would give his life many over to ensure she stayed in that peaceful state of mind.

He reluctantly tore his gaze away from his lover and peered through the slight opening between the shutters to the street below. A gentle sigh escaped his lips causing the glass to fog over lightly. He had brought so much anguish into her life over the past few years. He wondered sometimes if it was a mistake to return to her. It was his nature to pull away from comfort; the feelings associated with it were alien to his conscious mind. Pain and death had followed in the wake of his anger; lashing out at those closest to him. He worried the past would repeat itself again and he would tear open the wounds now barely closed in Belial?s heart. He loved her with everything in his being, but that too was a strange sensation. He never thought his twisted shriveled heart was capable of such ecstasy. He almost felt guilty, somehow betraying his dark past. He knew this would all change instantly with a single look from Belial's deep emerald eyes. He had seen on more than one occasion her love for him burning deeply in her gaze. This had been his saving grace, his reassurance; the reason his doubt was beginning to wash away.

As the long night began to slip away, the deep shadows along the rain soaked streets began to fade to a dull gray heralding the coming of dawn. Welverin stood at the window staring out into the steady downpour. For months the drow had fought with every inch of his zeal and determination to extricate something from the turmoil in his mind. He studied the empty streets below. Satisfied he closed his eyes and listened to rain. He was starting to realize he was searching for a solution, that he had already solved in his subconscious mind. Here is this city, with Belial, he was truly at home.