The sky swells with darkness, blotting out the noonday sun. The child convulses her small body surges forward and back, her spine arches, her eyes glaze white. The fire comes. Orange and red bolts blaze across the blackened sky. The raining flame collides with tree and home in brilliant blooms. The fleeing Elves weep for their great loss. The trees were their eldest friends and allies. The girl child carries her father's gift, and curse. Chardris, flame wielder, one of The Eight, has sired a Ninth.