"Erm, only for a moment..." Theldran said, timid. His tapered eyebrows fluttered in the breeze as he tried to look innocent.

"We had to save the raven because an Incendosaur was going to kill it." Jarieth offered. 

The Night Elf hunter gave a slight nod of his head, confirming his friend's exaggerated story.

"Theldran had his bow, and I was ready with my spells, dad. Lunk was just too slow to reach it first!"

The ogre emitted a loud grunt of protest.

"Let me get this straight," the trader began. "You went down to save a raven, a creature which - I must inform you, as you have obviously missed this simple fact - can easily escape by flying..." 

The boys looked a tad sheepish. "But..." Jarieth interrupted.

The warlock's father threw his son a warning look and quickly continued. "This one," he pointed to me, "is even armed with frost-bolts which managed to kill the said reptile?" He stood, with his fists on hips, scowling at the boys for their implausible yarn.

The boys stared at the ground, and Jarieth kicked some pebbles, disgruntled that he had been rumbled.

A strange sound, not dissimilar to a water torrent broke the tension. The noise escalated to a loud thrum, and just behind Jarieth's father, a swirling polychromatic mass expanded, forming into a large oval. A portal.

From its centre, a woman emerged. She was blue-skinned and possessed a regal appearance. She was dressed in a pale lilac satin gown, with ornate golden bands wrapped around her arms. Small horns sat atop her head, and her feet were cloven, yet she moved with exquisite grace. 

Jarieth's father turned. "Good afternoon, Umrii," he said, bowing, courteous.

"Umrii?" I hopped forward. I knew her somehow, and I desperately tried to recall how. I cawed with frustration as the revelation was not forthcoming, but my gut feeling was persistent.

"You know her too?" Lunk asked.

The woman, oblivious to the exchange between Lunk and me addressed Jarieth's father. "Hello Konrad, how are you and the boys? Has Theldran been behaving?"

Before Konrad had a chance to answer, the young Night Elf moved to his mother's side. "How is Father? I heard about Rishuul."

The woman lowered her head and took a deep breath. She awarded her son a maternal smile, before fixing his hair and brushing down his tunic. The boy was visibly embarrassed by his mother's preening. 

Jarieth sniggered behind his hand. 

Koran cuffed the warlock's ear reminding the boy of his manners. 

"Your father is understandably distraught, Theldran," Umrii said in her melodic accent. "He's had Rishuul from the time she was a cub." There was a hitch in the woman's voice. Evidently, this Rishuul was cherished by all the family.

I was still mulling over the names Lhadral and Umrii. There was something about this woman which reached far into my psyche, straining to scratch at a memory hidden deep within the perimeter of my mind. 

Puzzle pieces floated about in my head, almost fitting together then floating away, tumbling. "I will remember. I will!"

"Remember what?" Lunk asked, leaning down to me. I looked sideways as all eyes turned to us. Lunk explained. "He knows you, but he not remember how."

"Remembers who?" Konrad asked, turning to Lunk.

"Woman, and boy's father," the ogre replied, pointing to Umrii and then Theldran.

The woman sighed heavily. "That is highly unlikely. The only 'raven' who would know us perished at the Dark Portal. More sad news for the people I'm afraid." 

She turned to the magical gateway she'd stepped through and with a hand on her son's shoulder guided him to the threshold. 

Before Umrii followed her son, Konrad spoke. "You mean the Archmage? So it is true? He is dead?"

Umrii paused and looked back over her shoulder at the human. A sadness filled her eyes. She nodded. " I would like to think he is with my father now. They were great friends. But their spirits may be no more after what happened at the Dark Portal." 

Konrad nodded an acknowledgement. 

"Thank you for bringing Theldran on this trip, Konrad. He does so enjoy travelling with you both." She smiled at the tradesman and his son before bowing her head and steering Theldran through the portal. 

The shimmering colours wavered and pulsed as the oval shrank then vanished altogether.

Konrad looked towards me; his eyes were heavy. "Well, sadly, you are no Archmage, raven. May he rest in peace. I hope he is reunited with Vindicator Ocel, and that they travel the afterlife together."

I blinked rapidly. Archmage? Ocel? 

Crushing pain flared in my chest, causing me to stumble. It was a pain like no other - it was emotional, personal, overwhelming. Lunk's hand closed gently around me. 

"It's okay Raven. Puzzle pieces fall into place. You remember in time."