We made it to the city gate and were soon out in the fields. Workers could be seen with rakes and shovels, breaking up the ground to make it ready for planting. We continued on, and about a half a mile farther we came to the elven camp.

There were no guards or any kind of deterrent to keep anyone out. The reason no humans came here was that there had been a Cryer message that we were not to bother our elven allies. Everyone was curious, of course, but no one wanted to be the reason that they abandoned us.

The camp was made up of hundreds of large, colorful tents. The banners I had seen at the procession stood at regular intervals along the main path. Lorien and Varen led me down the path, and as we walked many elves emerged from their tents or other paths joining the main one.

Soon there was quite a large crowd, and all of them stared at me. But it was in a more curious, welcoming manner than when the people in Splethantown had done the same. Suddenly one of them, a she-elf, leaned towards me and grasped one of my hands for just a moment, then retreated back into her tent.

It seemed to give some sort of permission to all the rest, and one after another all the elves came and touched my hands. It was all done in an orderly and quiet fashion. As soon as one of them touched me they let go and made room for the next. There was no pushing or shoving, and Lorien and Varen slowed their pace to allow the strange... ritual, I suppose. Lorien kept glancing back at me, that smile on his face. This must be a good sign.

I tried to give a friendly smile to all of the elves, and most of them smiled back. I got a good look at a lot of them, and saw that all indeed shared pretty much the same angular features and all had the silver hair. Again the only differentiating quality was the color of the eyes.

There was a dizzying array of different shades, of green, blue, brown, even orange and a few red. Not a one was the same as the next, or any of the ones before. We continued on, and in front of us I saw an enormous tent. Standing in front of the entrance was an important-looking elf. At least, he had on a different kind of uniform. It had silver trimming and a sash tied around one forearm.

We stopped just in front of the elf. He had light blue eyes. We waited another ten minutes or so for all of the elves to touch my hands and go. When the last elf did, this one's eyes a brilliant purple color, the blue-eyed elf in front of the tent turned and led the way inside.

It was lit with dozens of candles, and four wooden chairs had been placed in the very middle. The corners of the tent were obscured in shadow, and I could see nothing else besides the chairs.

"Claresa," Lorien said, offering me his hand. I placed my hand in his, and he led me over to the chairs and sat me down, him taking the one right next to me. Varen took the chair directly in front me, and the elf with the different uniform took the remaining chair. After we were all situated, the elf reached across and squeezed my hand just like all the others.

"Hello, Claresa. Welcome. I am Chataya of Welash, General of this the forces of the East Elven Clan. I hope that I shall serve as an acceptable officiator for Lorien and yourself?" He paused, expecting an answer.

"Yes, yes, I'm sure." What else could I say?

"Excellent. Well then, normally at this point... but then this isn't a very normal situation, is it?" He paused. "Varen has informed me that you know nothing about the Alushaliel?"

"No, I do not," I answered, looking down at my hands.

"It is nothing to be ashamed of. For centuries now mankind has not had a knowledge of the old magic. You are not at fault."

"So... the Alushaliel is some kind of magic?"

"Not just some kind. It is one of the only kinds of magic that has remained in the knowledge of the elves from ancient times."

"So... how does it work?"

"The Alushaliel is the mechanism by which all elves find their... how do you humans say... their better half? Perhaps soulmate is a better phrase."

"Soulmate? Then-" I stopped and looked at Lorien.

"Our word for it is Aliel," he said, taking my hand again. The word Aliel felt... right, somehow. "You are my Aliel, and I am yours. The Alushaliel has claimed us to each other. Forever." As he said this his eyes sought out my own once more.

I could see now why this was so important, and why he acted the way he did. He thought I was his soulmate, his Aliel. But I was not entirely convinced.

"I think there must have been some sort of mistake," I said, tearing my eyes away from Lorien and looking between Varen and Chataya.

"Oh no, I assure you," Chataya said. "All of the accompanying rituals have been performed, at least for Lorien."

"It is for certain, Claresa," Varen said. "The Alushaliel has laid its claim. Nothing can change that now."

"But... but how? You said this is how elves... but I'm human."

"It is absolutely unheard of," Chataya informed me. "Never before in all our history has an elf and a human been claimed. That is why it took so long for Lorien to go and find you again. Normally, that same day of the claiming the rituals would begin, and the two Aliels would go through them together, to be sure that they truly were claimed. Since you are human, and assumed to not know anything about the Alushaliel, or our rituals, only Lorien could perform them."

"And I did, and everything was as it should be," Lorien said reassuringly. "And now that you know, we can move on to the bonding, right?" He asked this of Chataya, who had a puzzled expression on his face.

"I am not sure that it would be wise." Lorien's face fell. "Honestly, I am not sure of much at this point."

"But... the rituals, everything... everything was alright, wasn't it?"

"Yes, Lorien. You need not worry about that. But remember that your Aliel is human, and her own people's rituals and customs should be looked after as well. I believe, Claresa, that there is a period before marriage which you call courting?" This conversation was going much too fast for me, and I could only nod. "And I believe that there is also the custom of asking the father for permission, correct?" A tinge of sadness crept into my voice as I answered.

"I have no father... he died when I was very little."

"Hmm... perhaps the mother would do, then?"

"My mother is also dead." All of these questions were bringing up unpleasant memories, but I tried to bury them again. This was not a time to become melancholy.

"Oh, how dreadful! I forget, the horribly short lives humans have. And I see that it has upset you, talking about this. Please, forgive me. Perhaps we had better refrain from this discussion for the present time. I'm sure you have much thinking to do about all of this."

"But, what about the bonding?" Loren asked, and I felt of twinge of pain to see a look near to anguish on his face. "After the rituals-"

"As I said, Lorien, it would not be wise. Claresa has only just learned what the Alushaliel is. We must give her time to come to terms with it."

"How much longer must I wait?" Lorien asked sullenly.

"As long as is necessary." Chataya stood then, and the rest of us followed him out of the tent, Lorien keeping a firm but gentle grip on my hand. What was it with these elves and hand holding?