In the beginning of the New Days, at an hour when two moons were rising in the violet sky, a young man and a young woman sat on the hill outside Aldon-Sur, the great capital of Tilir.

"This is where the Spring of Spring used to run," the young man told. His name was Korian – an ancient name, a name that went back into the Old Days, before the Coming of the Messenger, before the Shadow,before the Union – back to when Tilir was no more than a stretch of empty land between the southern desert and the northern sea.

"The Spring of Spring!" exclaimed his fair companion. "What an odd name."

"When the thaw came to its waters, it meant that the spring has arrived indeed," Korian explained. "It used to run out of here – this crevice underneath this ancient crumbling rock." He ran his hand reverently over the uneven grey surface. "It has run dry before long, but its bed, though overgrown, is still here."

"The view here is pretty," observed the girl, looking down to the spiraling streets of the city below, illuminated by countless street lamps. The harbor, too, was lit by the lamps of hundreds of ships that were safely anchored at the bay. "But the place itself... I fail to see why it fascinates you so much, Kor. A dull rock and a dry stream – "

"This is not just a rock, Hiossara," the young man said warmly. "Under it, there used to be a source of Stormstone. And though the magic properties had been lost, and the gates had been sealed forever, I... I can't help feeling there is a special power in this place, a power that has endured since the Coming of the Messenger."

"Stormstone!" Hiossara laughed lightly. "My Gran used to tell me tales of it, when I was little and had trouble falling asleep at night."

"I would have given anything," Korian said, "anything, to live in the age of Stormstone. To see the Stormglass Gates forged – to cross the borders between worlds, and go into the World Beyond."

It seemed that Hiossara kept excessive amusement out of her voice only out of charity. "You actually believe in the World Beyond," she stated.

Korian frowned. "I do not see how I can help believing in it," he said, "if I believe in other things that are written in the ancient scrolls. Do we not know for a certainty that the Messenger had come? Do we not have a detailed record of the grave peril our land was saved from?"

"The Pale Men," Hiossara breathed out. Even centuries later, the mention of the Pale Men – Altered Men, Deathless Men – was enough to send a cold shiver down anybody's spine.

"The Pale Men," nodded Korian. "And do we not have the proof – solid, undeniable, visible proof – of how the Messenger came and hung the second moon in the sky?"

"Yes," Hiossara said slowly. "Indeed, the Learned Men teach us that once upon a time, there was only one moon in the sky – though it does seem so odd."

"The old stories are true, Hio," Korian said, with more emphasis this time. "And I cannot help but yearn for them – old tales and old ways and old days."

A faint smile touched Hiossara's lips. "I suppose you truly cannot help it," she conceded. "You are from Rhasket, the place that never changes."

"More than that, I am a Tionae," the young man said. "Our clan saw it all – for us, it is not cut-and-dry history. It is in our blood."

"And you like to read, and have a vivid imagination," Hiossara added. "You know so much about these things – I suppose you know why this old arch was built, too?" she half-asked, half-stated, running her hand over the heavy grey stones of the rounded arch that stretched above the lost source of Stormstone.

"Ah, this arch," Korian nodded. "It was built shortly after the great battle with the Altered Men, after the last Stormglass gate was forged, used and sealed. Most agree that it was built simply as a memorial to a great age that had come to an end. But some say otherwise," he looked down and was silent for a minute or two.

"Otherwise?" his companion prompted, wrapping her cloak more tightly about her. The last traces of the day's warmth had disappeared by now – and the nights, though it was late spring, were still chilly.

"Some say," Korian went on, slowly, "that this arch, in itself, is a gate – a gate that will open someday, fueled by new power – not of the Stormstone, but of something quite new, that had never been seen in this world before."

"You are quite a storyteller," remarked Hiossara. "You have almost made me wish for the old days, too – though it is not usually in my nature."

For a while the two of them sat in silence, with their back to the stone arch, and Korian's arm went up and coiled furtively around the girl's shoulders. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, she let her head rest on his shoulder, and murmured in a dreamy voice: "We should probably start on our way home soon. Mother will be looking for me."

"I will walk you home," Korian said.

"Halfway," she conditioned. "You know you must not be seen. My parents will throw a fit." To soften the impact of her words, she squeezed his hand, and he grudgingly accepted the restriction imposed by her.

"I wish your parents were more reasonable," he couldn't help saying sullenly.

"They will be in time," Hiossara promised him. "Leave it to me – time and gentle persuasion will do their work. We have the summer ahead of us – a long, beautiful summer, and we will walk in the hills every day. Look! Isn't it a splendid sight – Aldon-Sur from this distance? See the lights in the harbor. They are so strong that I could swear the night is brightening."

Korian blinked once, then twice. "Yes," he said in a strange voice - it is brightening – but –"

"But what?" Hiossara inquired, raising her head from his shoulder. "How odd your voice sounds!"

"There is light," Korian said, "and – and it isn't coming from the city."

Simultaneously, the two of them turned around and looked back.

The arch – the old, cold, stony grey arch – was filled with light – gentle, fluid bluish light that overflowed and cast its bright glow on the carved stones, the crumbling rock, and their awe-struck young faces. Hiossara clutched Korian's arm so hard that it hurt.

"Kor," she breathed, "I am dreaming, Kor,"

She was fearful, and looked as though she might run. But the young man took hold of her hand and remained standing with his feet planted firmly in the ground, looking bravely into the shimmering blue light that filled the arch.

"Perhaps we both are," he said, "but I don't think so. No, Hio – this is the light from the World Beyond. This is the beginning – the beginning of the New Days."