Kostae woke up early one morning and crawled out of bed to peek out the window. The half-drow blinked several times as the sun's rays shone in with bright light, bathing the room in a soft golden glow. He then turned toward the bed and looked down at the sleeping Niima, he didn't want to wake her just yet, so he crept past her, took up that hat of his, and hopped right over the balcony's railing to land in the room below.

He walked out of Aislin's cabin, careful not to wake the sleeping puppy either. Kostae's path led him to the Southern Glen's clearing, where he sat down at the edge of the lake and stared into it's waters for a time. He remembered the cavern down there, the place Nimma lived, and he remembered when she was stricken with grief, thinking Madoushi hated her. He remembered going down there to convince her to come back out.

It wasn't all that long ago that all that happened, but it already felt like years and years. He had grown so accustomed to his new life on the surface, was even married now, a thought that brought the still young at heart Kostae, great joy.