Coran sat on the floor, legs crossed beneath him, arms crossed before him, thumbs and forefingers touching in the sign of spiritual concentration as he meditated. It had been a common practice for him to rise early and greet the day by finding harmony within his mind, body and spirit. However, of late his entanglement with various companions and adventures had interrupted the pattern, but in the wake of the previous night’s epiphany he felt the need to reestablish his spiritual balance stronger than ever. The gorgeous Sunite cleric Tessele, who slumbered peacefully just a few feet away, had told him that he bore a blessing from Lady Firehair, which drew to him the attention of beautiful woman, but he had always been a follower of Selune, the Moonmaiden, whose mysteries had lead him on his path of life. Now he realized that he could honor both… Selune for the mysteries that inspired him to learn, grow and seek enlightenment, and Sune for the passion to pursue those lofty goals, while still embracing the joys of life and the beauty of the world around him. “You’re not wearing Selune’s symbol anymore,” Tessele’s lilting voice was coarse with sleep as it drew his attention, his eyes lighting upon her breathtaking beauty as she lay in bed. “It didn’t seem right to,” he explained, greeting her with a warm smile as he rose and moved to sit beside her. He had removed the charm that bore Selune’s eyes and stars symbol from the amulet he wore about his neck, leaving only the enchanted “dragon curl” that helped defend him in battle. He didn’t feel right wearing either goddesses symbol without the other’s, and he really had no need to bear them… unlike a cleric, druid, ranger or paladin, as a monk of the Sun Soul school, which both divine ladies supported, he was not granted any of his abilities directly through his faith, it only served to guide him. So, he felt the proper choice was to display neither. The fact was, few people bore any sign of their faith, other than those directly connected with a church or shrine, or granted some form of power or ability directly from the gods, even though most on Faerun did choose a patron to guide them; so, if anything, removing the charm left him looking even more like a common dalesman or traveler. But no common man would have a companion as stunningly gorgeous as the red-headed heartwarder. “What now?” she inquired as she lounged lazily in bed, having no sense of urgency to begin the day as, to her knowledge, there was nothing pressing that required either of their attention today. “I don’t know,” he replied idly. “It seem like my life of late has been one adventure after another. But for now nothing more pressing than breakfast demands my attention. Although, I have faith that, given time, something will come up… it always does!” “And you wouldn’t have it any other way,” she teased with a wicked grin and a capricious glint in her eye, her mind filling with thoughts on how they might pass the time until something did. ****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Just a quick image to tie up this "book" of my series while I "recast" some of the "parts" of the next sequence of images and narratives. I had intended to add more parts to this "book", but realized that this next adventure should be it's own "book". Thank you to everyone who has been following along with this marathon series... by far the longest I've every managed to maintain.