You wake up the next day after our last session and Rillian meets up with you guys

leading you to the

docks where a ferry boat is waiting to take you all across Lake Khurn to the Capital of Khurza-Dun. The
trip is uneventful and Rillian seems anxious and more than a bit nervous at the thought of getting back
home and seeing his betrothed again. The events of the next few days kind of blur a bit as they are a
whirlwind of social activity much different than the near constant adventuring you guys have been doing
over much of the past year. Winter is beginning to signal its onset and the typically chilly clime of
Khurtack gives way to the first actual snow of the season. For each of you this time feels a little different
but the essential event of the next few days is the audience and ceremony that takes place at the Halls
of Mercy where Fruitful Mother Moira Stargem thanks you for reuniting Rillian Kingsbeard and Gwyniath
Fairfoot as she asked of you. The audience is fairly standard and she (Moira Stargem) announces to you
all that there will be a celebratory reception the next evening which she hopes you all will attend as you
will be the guests of honor alongside Rillian and Gwyniath. She expects many of the most prominent
movers and shakers, Dwarven and otherwise, of Khurza-Dun will be there at the soiree. She takes the
time to hear your tale of what went on during the adventure and you get the impression that her title of
“mother” is apt as she is both an active and very nurturing listener. After a few hours spent telling the
tale, sharing a meal, and getting to know each other she tells you that if you will come back that evening
around midnight she will undertake the communion with Sharindlar which will be the reward she
promised you: the approval of Sharindlar for Baltr’s ascension. Along with this matter she feels confident
that each of you will be offered another more personal boon for accomplishing this task in Sharindlar’s
name.

As you return that evening you are led out to the Mirror of Khurn where moonlight is streaming in bright
and clear from above through the oculus above into the center of the clear waters of the Lake. You
reach the edge of the moonstone walkway and before you dancing gracefully, more gracefully than you
can recall having ever seen a dwarf move before is the Fruitful Mother arrayed in majesty lost in music
that only she can hear lithely dancing on top of the water bathed in moonlight and motes of light that
seem to cling to her and dance in their own way independently of her but never far from her side. Soon
after your arrival she begins to sing a song of praise and entreaty to her Goddess Sharindlar asking her
presence to be manifested before launching into a cross between spoken word performance and
improvised singing as she recounts the story you told her earlier that day of your adventure to track
down and rescue Rillian from his captors. As she recounts your tale you take notice of this rosy radiance
that begins to outline each of you very dimly at first, but over time growing in strength to outline each of
you in a comforting rose glow. The night is chilly, but as the rose glow envelops you the warmth of the
color begins to suffuse each of you with a warmth that sits down deep inside of you leaving you both
warm and hopeful about the future. As Moira’s storytelling begins to reach its crescendo a host of
winged fairy like creatures that Puck recognizes as Sylphs appear from out of the night sky seeming to
trail down from the moon itself. As Moira’s story-song concludes the Slyphs begin to bunch together
into the silhouette of a dancing Dwarven woman alternating between a rose-colored glow and the softer
silvery radiance of the moon. Moira’s final word bit of song rings out into the night and the air grows still
with a sense of anticipatory wonder as the Sylph outline continues to dance together in a form of
synchronized flying that is mesmerizing to watch. The dance goes on for several long beats before a
voice issues forth from everywhere and nowhere with the warm tones of a young Dwarven woman
infused with a depth of wisdom and power unlike anything you have ever heard audibly. The dance of
the sylph continues with Moira now joining in in the background as the Goddess Sharindlar offers you
greetings and thanks for your part in bringing to two of her most favored children into a joyous reunion
with one another. The words echo out into the darkness but each of you feel as if they are directed
solely at you and although you are filled with a deep reverence and awe in the moment there is
something conversational and intimate about this moment. The Lady of Life and Mercy seems to speak
to each of you in turn, exchanging pleasantries and leaving you with the impression that you are being
evaluated but not in a judgmental way. It is as if someone were taking the measure of your life going
forwards and backwards in time, offering both encouragement and guidance. You can never remember
the exact words spoken between you and the Goddess in those moments but you are eventually
brought to a point in the conversation where Sharindlar seems to address you once again as a group.

“You have an interesting path before you, each of you. My favored has told me you seek my approval for
another of great interest to join the pantheon, such as it is, in this land of Khurtack. I do not object, and
as such am happy to offer my own welcome when the time comes. The perspective of mortals is limited
and so I would just offer this one question each of you. Why do you seek Baltr’s ascension? Some of you
are late-comers to this quest and some of you do not factor into this unfolding of immortal fate, but you
have accomplished what was asked and I am bountiful in my blessings. As you go forward in this world I
would offer each of you a blessing above and beyond the permission I give as a promised reward. Not all
of you are Moradin’s children and so I have no illusions about your knowledge of the Shining Dancer
manifested before you on this night. My blessings I offer to each of you in thanks for what you have
accomplished come forth from my bounty as a Goddess given dominion over seven different aspects of
life. My primary aspect is one of mercy, I offer the gift of reprieve and second chances. My radiance
shines out to all in need of mercy, and brings with it restoration and healing. My second aspect is one of
Romantic Love, as Berronar represents the wife and the keeping of domestic tranquility it is my gift of
romance that fans the flames of passion and ensures that the heart-fire of all Dwarves are stoked into
an ever-roaring blaze by the enduring power of love. The rose-glow of love sustains hope and endures
deprivation for a cause bigger than one’s self. My third aspect is the promoter of new life, I am the
fertile womb, the newly ploughed garden, the bounty of life itself. Where I dance new life is fostered,
and from me springs up all the generations to come. Death holds no permanent sway over me because
where it ends, I begin, and where it begins I am never far off ready to work anew. My fourth aspect is
that of dance. From out of the rush of movement and rhythm of life’s dance comes my joy and the
creative artistry that undergirds love and life. The steps of my dance lead one to a greater understanding
of the connections between all living things, as well as greater insight into our true beings. The gift of the
Shining Dancer brings with it clarity and freedom from the crippling effects of doubt and fear. The
strength of my people lies in our traditions, and the joy of the dwarves abides in deep places going back
time immemorial to our forging by the Dwarffather himself. My sixth aspect is as the guardian and guide
of the courtship process which ensures that the fires of passion are channeled into the forging of bonds
of love that will form the bedrock for generations to come. The stability and prosperity of the people
rest upon the bonds formed during right courtship, and in my role as mediator of that process I ensure
those interested in that gift know what is expected of them when they are buffeted by the bellows of
life’s forge so that they come through intact and stronger for it. My final aspect is perhaps the most
clearly displayed this night as we gather around the Mirror of Khurn. I am the moon, bright and clear in
the night sky. Untrammeled by darkness, shining forth to illuminate creation in what otherwise would
be uncaring and cold darkness. I pierce the veil of night to reveal the unseen and lay bare the thoughts
that would otherwise obscure. My light brings comfort and solace to those in need of it, where darkness
reigns my illumination shines forth the brighter. I offer each of you a gift, you have only to decide which
of my aspects speaks to you the most. There is no wrong answer, and my gift once given is given
completely although its manifestation might change if it is abused. Choose then, favored ones, and
watch with wonder as the gift is given….”
At this point the voice fades out and you are left to pick an aspect which will determine the gift you will
receive from Sharindlar. The silhouette of Sylphs gives way into a whimsical array of individual fairies
dancing in and around the mirror with Moira herself rising up from the mirrored lake to dance before
you, clearly still in a trance of sorts. A whirling of moonstone gems appears in a helix around her dancing
form one for each of you (each of you that helped to rescue Rillian and participated in the Silver Chair
adventure). Which aspect do you choose? Once you have chosen I will continue the narrative and begin
with the individual storytelling/character development that will take place for your characters over
winter break.