And you certainly have nothing to be ashamed of.”“Thank you again, Jake. Now that I have my notes and my pencil at hand, perhaps you can continue.... I heard Frank ask you a question just as I rushed through the door. I’m ready to record your answer now.”“I’m not sure I can honestly answer his question now that you are here, Analise.”She spoke quickly. “Now, Jake. We have to put aside our feelings of embarrassment, just as you asked of me when my dress slipped. Please answer the questions as if I. That’s what I said when I first asked you. ‘Evan, would you consider letting my husband and your wife play together?’ Do you remember?” “I remember,” he replied. “You said that if we openly encouraged them that there could be benefits for us, too.” “And here we are, headed to my house to enjoy the benefits,” she said. “Indeed. But, if you hadn’t explained the rationale to me, I surely would have reacted differently.” “What rationale, Evan?” she asked. “No damage, no difference,” he replied. “No. He left it for my mother to inform us he had decided to postpone his efforts to use weddings to help promote business. He had gotten so carried away with the prospects it had escaped his notice that it would be inappropriate to do at his daughter’s wedding. My mother tried hard to sell it, but it was pretty clear she didn’t believe him either. I told her to let him know how much I appreciated his understanding. I doubt she believed me any more than she believed him. She seemed to be satisfied. Not all races survived the Time of Chaos, and more would follow their fellows into the shadows of legend.Then the Darkness came. Wars broke out all over Titia-Lohr. The Dei-Xhan collected to them the disenchanted, the poor, the outcast, and the simply evil in an effort to fight off the followers of the other Gods led by Sol and the Illuminants. The masters of the Celestial Objects came together in opposition to the masters of my brethren, Soul-Drinker and Darkblade. Jonas Justinian, a Human and.