On a day in the middle of June, Violant – who thanks to her continuous engagement had gotten a study of her own like Mortimer did too – stood in said study talking to Hanarr Filason, the dwarven smith. She had asked him to come since she had gotten a letter regarding her social debut from the palace and she thus needed his skillful hands.

To understand this matter we shortly have to go back to the reign of the penultimate king. During those days it was quite common for nobles to spend an exorbitant fortune on the debut of their children, not few ruining themselves in the process. Especially among the young women there was a raging war for the most spectacular outfit, for the debut ball was the perfect event to show off their house’s prestige and the most important chance to meet their possible future husbands.

The queen at that time hailed from a relatively poor count family barely still belonging to the high nobility the royal family’s brides were chosen from. Considering her less than affluent background and her first-hand knowledge about the pressure poor noble houses in particular were facing in regard to the debut practices, she abhorred the extravagance getting out of hand that forced nobles into debt and squandered the subject’s precious tithes and tax money.

After securing herself the backing of her royal husband, this very queen decreed that the noble houses henceforth still could contend for the most prestige during the debut balls happening every March and October, but with particular attention to a piece of clothing or accessories decided on every single time by the queen herself. Additionally, a compulsory upper limit for debut-related spending was implemented and whoever was found to go against it was to be excluded from the social debut. That meant no less than social death for those affected and a huge disgrace for their houses.

Now returning to Violant, the reason she had summoned Hanarr had to do with the queen’s choice for the ladies’ object of special attention. The young lady couldn’t help but think that it had been different in her last life but that wasn’t of any importance. What was important, though, was that the debutantes were expected to wear a necklace highlighting a gem. Furthermore, the gem should represent the characteristics of its wearer and their house. And that’s where the problem lay. Hanarr was doubtlessly capable of creating the finest jewelry with his hands but what kind of gem was worthy to represent Violant and the house of Avallach?

“It should harmonize with yer eyes as well as yer hair.” Hanarr pondered loudly, all the while stroking his bushy dark grey beard. “Do ye already know what color yer dress will have?”

“Not yet.” Violant responded “”It will depend on the central object, namely the necklace.”

“Ye are right.” the dwarf consented “The major problem now is the color o’ the gem. I’ll need to decide if we’re goin’ with silver or with gold quite soon but I can’t without knowin’ the color.”

“But what kind of gem does represent me the best?” the young lady asked.

Suddenly the door to the study swung open. None of the two inside had noticed that it hadn’t been completely closed.

Who entered was an elven beauty. Of course it was no one else but Eibhlin the magic tutor.

“Please excuse my intrusion but I couldn’t help but overhear your talk while passing by. I think I know the perfect kind of gem for…”

“Nosy elf.” Hanarr interrupted the magic tutor while clicking his tongue “Nothin’ different to expect from ye long-eared fellas. Always stickin’ yer noses where they don’t belong, don’t ya?”

Eibhlin regarded the dwarf with a very angry gaze and pouted. The main issue for her, however, was not being interrupted but being called an elf. Just like the dwarves preferred to be called underjordiske and the schrats preferred the term holzleute, the elves too despised the name given to them by humans and had an own term they rather wanted to hear: daoine sidhe. The people of the mounds. The traditional dwelling of elves in the other march was often inside characteristic mounds, thus giving rise to the term.

“Now, now.” Violant stepped in to pacify before the rivalry between elves and dwarves made any communication impossible. “Please forgive her, Hanarr. I am sure she doesn’t mean bad. Now, what did you want to say, Eibhlin?”

“Oh yes!” the elf remembered why she had come and hit her palm with a fist. “I think the gem most suited to you is a dragon stone.”

“A dragon stone?” the smith and the young lady both asked in surprise.

“Yes, that roundish stone formed from crystallized magic power that can be found in a dragon’s skull.” Eibhlin said “It is the most fitting, don’t you agree? The most magical of all stones for the lady with the highest magic aptitude. Not to forget that dragon stones all differ in color so you can choose the one with the color you like the best.”

“I regret to blunt your enthusiasm, Eibhlin, but neither does the margraviate of Avallach own even a single dragon stone nor are we able to procure one even with our ties to the other march.” Violant pointed out.

“That doesn’t matter in the least.” the elf replied, a smug smile on her face “Because I know exactly where to find them galore. Just – it surely isn’t the most pleasant place there is. Surrounded by ever-smoking volcanoes and filled with pests such as cockatrices and basilisks, the dragon cemetery is quite the dangerous place. But since it is, nobody comes there aiming for the dragon stones that can virtually be found in every bone heap lying around. I must know, for I have already been there. Although, what I needed was less a dragon stone but some dragon’s claws. And what do you know? If you are lucky you might even find a nugget of purest gold for your necklace in the remains of some alber dragon. You know, that kind from the high mountains feeding exclusively on ores.”

“Sometimes even an elf can be useful.” Hanarr admitted reluctantly. He was sulky afterwards though because he felt bothered by the smug expression Eibhlin had shown when hearing his statement.

“So, you already were at this dragon cemetery once?” Violant inquired who now couldn’t care less about the dwarf’s childish attitude.

“Yes.” the elven beauty nodded “And luckily for you it is quite close to the border of the human world. The nearest exit from what you call the other march is at a human holy side you humans call the sanctuary hill or ealh-don in your ancient tongue. I believe the place near this superstitiously avoided place where humans once have worshipped the dragons is called Ealdon nowadays.”

Even if she didn’t look like it, Eibhlin was already several centuries old, although still a youngling in the eyes of hoary Alarun. She often had mingled with humans during her lifetime and thus naturally had come to observe and understand the shifts and changes the human language experienced with time.

When the young lady heard a familiar sounding place come up in the talk, her eyes began to shine.

“Eibhlin, I have to ask you a favor.” the girl said “I would like for you to travel with me to Ealdon and from there on further to the dragon cemetery to procure the dragon stone you have spoken about. You would be my guide in those premises if you agree.”

“Since I have come up with the topic myself, I would do well to lend you a hand with it, I suppose.” the elf agreed.

“And I’ll equip ye with the best tools and weapons. It ain’t goin’ to be easy tryin’ to remove a dragon stone from a dragon’s skull, I tell ya!” Hanarr declared. He didn’t want to get left out in the endeavor although he wouldn’t accompany the two women on their journey. It was simply his pride as a dwarf rebelling against an elf having the final say.

“Thank you, Hanarr.” Violant thanked. The red-haired lady was very happy indeed that both her magic tutor and her smith friend were willing to help her.