"Ah, Selina, I am happy I found you here. I wish to thank you for agreeing to the Hosting. As Elgarth"s Mother, I have been concerned for his happiness since his blinding, it would have been a sore wound indeed for him to start his life with your daughter Layla without one." Centhra, Mother of the Hunt family, carefully watched Selina for any signs of displeasure at her greeting. "Centhra, I am pleased to have this opportunity to ask you what needs doing at a Hosting, I've never had to plan one before. Hoffman and I have been at every one that has occured and I have never paid sufficient attention to the details, just to the happy couple involved." Selina smiled and Centhra knew that she did so with a full heart.

"The details are few and simple, when the time comes I will help you with them, but first I must regale you with the tales of Elgarth as any good Mother does when the Hosting has been agreed upon. I must begin by saying I Centhra, Wife of Darrabar, Mother of Elgarth who was my Alpha son until his blinding, requests an audience with Selina, Mother of the Alpha Female Layla." Selina solemnly nods her head and agrees to the audience. "You were not Keeper of the Nursery when the egg that was Elgarth was entrusted to it's care. Your Father was and a finer man we have never had the pleasure of meeting. He took the best of care and insured that many of our offspring were born healthy. Elgarth was no exception, he was healthy but small. What he lacked in size he made up for in heart, and actually arrived at his Dawning much earlier than his brother Algrim, the present Alpha Male.

You were but a baby when the Darkwings attacked, and tried to steal you from your resting place in your Father's study. Elgarth just happened to see the Darkwing enter through the balcony and he went to save you. He was and is valiant, that is a quality that has not diminished with his infirmity, and he fought the Darkwing until your Father could safely remove you from the room. Unfortunately during the battle, the Darkwing gained the upper hand and clawed Elgarth in the face, blinding him for life. The proper thing for the Darkwing to do would have been to take his life, he did not, he spared my Elgarth and for that I am grateful and at the same time saddened. The sparing of his life cost him much more than his death would have cost me. He would have had little life as a blind dragon if you had not taught him how to use his other senses.

He is the most sensitive of all my children. He is the most loving of sons and the most likely to sense when someone else is having difficulty. It amazes me how he always knows when someone is injured either physically or emotionally. He is always the first to offer aid, when he can, and comfort when he can't. We are born physically different from the Human Race, but your Father saw to it that we all had the same goodness in our hearts. It's as if he gave us all some part of his blood and that drop carried all the love in the world. Elgarth may be blind but he makes up for that with the size of his heart and his willingness to lay down his life for those he loves. If he felt that you were against his wish to marry your daughter Layla he would Exile himself and by doing so he would die as all Dragons who resort to Exile do. Thus ends the tale of Elgarth the Blind, Son of Darrabar and Centhra of the Hunt Family."

"Come with me, Centhra, I wish to show you the gown Layla and I have chosen for the ceremony. The Hunt Family does me great honor by accepting into it's bosom the daughter of Hoffman and Selina of the Nursery. I have known that Elgarth saved my life for quite sometime, I did not know that was how he lost his sight. I owe him so much more than I could ever repay him. The ceremony and the Hosting is to be in two days, and you still have not told me what I must do Centhra. I would so wish this to be a joyous day for all who attend."

The morning of the day dawns bright and clear. There is no smoke from any cooking fire, there will not be until the Hosting begins, for all fires have been allowed to die out. Elgarth makes his way to the home of his future bride where he breathes the Dragon Breath upon the sticks laid for the fire on the hearth of the fireplace. He must be careful with the amount of fire he breathes because he must light only the sticks laid for the fire. After that every household in the village will bring a torch to the fire. Once lit, the torch will be carried back to their own homes to light their own cookfires. When all fires have been lit the Dragons and Humans all gather at the foot of the mountain. There Elgarth and Layla announce their vows and the marriage is then blessed by all members of the community. Too soon the heat of the day will be upon them and the humans must return to their underground homes to await the coolness of the evening to begin celebrating in honor of the happy couple.

The task of registering the marriage will fall to Angoss, son of Muldat and Sarcassa, Father and Mother of the First Family. Muldat as the elder of the community will be the first to light his torch and the first to wish them good health and long life. His daughter Bethrim will be marrying Demdol the Alpha son of the Egg Family in a month or so and his wife will be Hosting for Demdol. He can't help feeling a slight touch of superiority to Hoffman, father of Layla, because his daughter will be marrying an Alpha Male. Still he would have been just as proud if Elgarth and Bethrim had decided to get married. A good Husband for ones daughter is a blessing in life, and Elgarth will be a good husband to Layla. Much has been lost over the centuries, but love in all it's guises has strengthened and brought together that which in any other time would seem impossible. The marriage of a Dragon and the brave woman who loves him.