The Original Ending

            Seventy years had passed since the fall of the great darkness. In the spring of the Aren’s ninety-fourth year, he died quietly in the Great Hall of Eddenmark. Mourners came from all lands, from the Woodland of Amrodel, and the Guerdian city of Amon-Daal, and from the far land of Kora where his daughter still reigned as Queen.

            All passed by his pyre, his sons and his daughter with her dark and noble husband last, and they stooped one by one to kiss his silent brow. Then they left, and Cahira stood alone beside him. In Aren’s face, she saw all the beauty of his youth, blended with the strength and glory of his long reign as Chieftain of the Norsk. She eased his hair from his forehead, and she pressed a final kiss upon his lips, and in a curtain of tears, she bade him farewell.

            One year went by as she wandered the Great Hall alone as if her long life had passed into a dream from which she longed to awaken. Then in the spring, she took her leave of her son, Aren’s heir, and she traveled alone to the seaport of Amon-Dhen.

            There, in the harbor, Aren’s ship ‘The Prince of Ice’ rocked slowly on the waves, bound to its mooring. But upon the far horizon, there came another ship, noble and fair, and it glowed with light as it sailed toward her.

            It drew near and she saw that one man stood at its helm. His hair was golden and blew in the wind, and his amber eyes were shining. As the ship drew up to the shore, he came to the ship’s bow and held out his hand.

            Cahira’s heart filled with love, and her hope and joy soared again in her soul. She exhaled a final breath, then moved across the water, and she placed her hand in his. Aren helped her up onto the white ship, and he drew her into his arms. He kissed her gently, then with a passion that leapt like fire. Then he turned the ship back to the sea, and, as one, they sailed into forever.