‘Destroying the Elf King’s works and his army is a task which is far beyond our meagre means, yet a way must be found.’ It was Olwynn, who was the eldest of them. In fact, he was one of the few who was genuinely old. The others considered him the wisest in Lore and Wisdom, and when he spoke, all listened with grave respect. ‘If they have indeed taken the Elven Book of Lore,’ he continued, ‘then there is no choice but to stop them. No place would be safe. The Earth Mother’s power might very well become corrupted, and with it our future as well.’
Elgar frowned. ‘I had always thought the Earth Mother to be inviolate. Surely, were the Elves to attempt unleashing something so utterly harmful to Her Creation, She will interfere.’
Olwynn smiled sadly, aware that the younger members were hanging on his every word concerning the Earth Mother, looking to him for a reassurance he couldn’t give them.
‘It is unlikely,’ he said, ‘that the Earth Mother will or can intervene. At one time I would have said that the Balance was such a far reaching thing, and the Elf King and his Lore but a little matter, that She could never be harmed. But I fear . . . it is in my heart that the King and his Loremasters are somehow responsible for Her silence these past months, impossible though that may seem.’