She took a step forward. “I do, High Lord. I have come to make a request, one that you might initially be inclined to reject out of hand, but if you hear me out I believe you will be persuaded to support it. I am here on behalf of the Druid order and its Ard Rhys, but it is our people who will be affected most directly by your response to what I am seeking.”

“Our people,” Phaedon repeated, not bothering to look up from the handful of papers he was shuffling. “By which you mean the Elves, I gather?”

His rudeness surprised her. “I do,” she replied.

“Yet you wear Druid robes?”

“Phaedon, let her speak, please,” the King said quietly.

“I only seek clarity,” his son replied, again without looking up.

There was a long silence, as if everyone was waiting on a further exchange.

“You said you have a request?” Ellich asked Aphenglow finally, breaking the silence.

“I do.” She gathered her thoughts. “The Druids have discovered an Elven magic from the Old World, one long thought lost. It is not certain that this magic can be found, or even that it still exists. To determine both, the Druids will go in search of it. But the way is unclear. There are no explicit directions that would aid us. It would help immeasurably if we were to be given temporary use of the blue Elfstones.”

She didn’t miss the hurried exchange of looks among the members of the High Council. Only the King, his son, and Ellich showed nothing.

“I dare to ask this of you, High Lord, because we feel we can rely on you to honor the agreement that was made between your grandmother, when she was Elven Queen, and our Ard Rhys when she was at the beginning of her service to the order. At that time, Khyber Elessedil returned the blue Elfstones to the Elven people with the understanding that should it become necessary at some later time the Druids would be allowed to borrow these Stones for limited usage. We submit that such a time is at hand. If the need were not so great, we would never ask this of you. That I have come to you with this request should indicate how important we think it is that you agree.”

“This matter will need serious discussion,” offered one member of the Council. She didn’t know him, as she didn’t know any of them save those in her family and the First Minister, an older woman who at one time had been friends with her mother.

“I am at your service,” Aphenglow said.

“If you were really at our service, you would not be here making this request,” Phaedon declared, his head lifting suddenly, his eyes fastening on her. “If you were really at our service, you would still be living in Arborlon and helping us instead of helping the Druid order.”