The Dream Spheres by Elaine Cunningham

skyflower trick, or Arilyn either, for that matter. If you must play these frivolous jests, you would be wise to inflict them on those less able to retaliate. Furthermore— “
    “Uncle.” Danilo cut off the wizard’s tirade with a sharp tone and an upraised hand. “Believe me, I did not design
    the skyflower spell as a prank. Nor did I intend to come here.”
    The cloud of ire slowly lifted from the archmage’s face, to be replaced by dawning concern. “This is plain truth?”
    “Unadorned.”
    Khelben nodded slowly, his eyes intent upon the young mage. “This could be serious. There are some magicks, not many, Mystra be praised—that can have such effects. Have you bought another singing sword or some such nonsense?”
    “No, nothing. Must we speak of this now?”
    The archmage merely lifted one brow. Danilo sighed and began to gather words to explain what he suspected—and what he had done. “As you know, the magic of Arilyn’s moonblade has not always been stable,” he began.
    “That is true enough, and I perceive the feel of elven magic about you.”
    It was on the tip of Danilo’s tongue to confess that the moonblade’s magic had also been affected, until he remembered his mother’s words, and Oth’s, and Regnet’s, and the many other small remarks that had warned him away from following his heart. Anger surged through Danilo at the thought that Khelben would add his considerable weight to the argument.
    “You need not concern yourself,” he said angrily. “I would not ask Arilyn to choose between me and the moonblade. That is the only thing in this world or any other that would make me foreswear her, half-elf though she may be. If that notion offends you, I would thank you to keep it to yourself.”
    Khelben looked genuinely surprised. “Why would it? Arilyn is a good woman. Probably far better than you deserve.”
    This was not the response Danilo had anticipated. “You approve?”
    A wry smile touched the archmage’s lips, and he made a sweeping gesture that encompassed the bedchamber and came to rest on the portrait of a wondrous, silver-haired lady. “How could I not? You know that Laerel’s mother was half-elven.”
    “No, I didn’t,” Danilo responded. In truth, little was known of Laerel, one of the famed Seven Sisters.
    “Laerel’s mother was a fine woman, though like many half-elves, she did not have an easy life. Nor did my father, for that matter,” Khelben continued.
    That bit of intelligence stole the starch from Danilo’s legs. He sank down on the edge of Laerel’s bed and regarded the archmage with astonishment.
    “Your father was half-elven,” he said in wondering tones, regarding the mage from whom he had descended. “So there is elven blood in the Arunsun family! The Lady Cassandra carries it and passed it to me.”
    “Yes, that sounds like the normal order of things,” Khelben said testily. “However, there is reason why Cassandra would not thank me for telling this tale or you for repeating it.”
    Danilo smothered a grin. Though Khelben Arunsun was not, as was commonly believed, Cassandra Thann’s younger brother, he still seemed to hold the woman in genuine awe.
    “Your secret is safe, and I thank you for speaking it,” Danilo said from the heart. A small thing, perhaps, but it seemed to him nothing less than a key to most of his life’s questions. Since boyhood, he had been drawn to all things elven and knew not why. He better understood why an elf woman had claimed his heart so completely— and why he cared enough about elven ways that he was prepared to give her up if he must.
    “What will you do now?”
    The archmage’s question surprised Danilo, as did the gentle tone in which it was broached. Usually Khelben gave opinions and orders or asked questions designed to
    extract information. He was particularly strict with Danilo, in whom he took an oppressively paternal interest, but the archmage’s normally stern face was softened by genuine concern.