Part 4
“I can tell you this; they were far deeper into Kragorram and the Sylvan’s minds than they have ever been in ours, despite the many hours we’ve spent Linked with them. They gained access to our surface thoughts and emotions with no resistance from us, and so they were well contented with what we gave them. But they had to break into the minds they shared tonight, and were still pushing hard when they broke past the Shields. They probably now know a significant portion of everything Kragorram has experienced or learned in some nine thousand years of life. They certainly know everything that the Sylvan ever thought or experienced.
“Only in war have I ever encountered anyone who was so thoroughly mind-raped by another as that Sylvan was by Helemia. In the girl’s defense, the Sylvan did attack her when he detected her psionic probe. She counter-attacked, crushed his psionic Shields like egg shells, and took all that she found within.
“This episode brings back many memories for me. Not my own memories of course, but memories of what my mother told me of her experiences with me. I am the only person known to have cast the power before birth, in the form of primitive Force Bolts. I was just doing the magical equivalent of kicking in the womb for exercise, and venting my frustration at my confinement.
“Reggie and Helemia have found their own way to escape the confinement of the womb, and like my use of Force, their psionics are completely inherent and intuitive. And so far as I know, they are the only babies to have ever used psionics before birth, though I would not be surprised to find the phenomenon among the unicorns. Perhaps we should have expected that the babies would go exploring, psionicly speaking. If they had chosen to do so in the day, we would have been awake and would have dealt with it before it became a problem. It was quite a stroke of bad luck that even Povon and Kragorram were asleep, considering draconian sleeping habits.
“As it is, this will have many repercussions. As my mother had to do, we will need to make sure that one of us is awake and monitoring the children whenever Talia is asleep.
“Now, I don’t remember my adventures in my mother’s womb; my first memories are from when I was just less than two years old. But there is no doubt that those experiences had an effect on me, and helped shape my development.
“Similarly, I doubt that the twins will retain any conscious memory of their experiences tonight. But I am sure that they will be affected. They may retain some of the character and qualities of Kragorram’s mind, especially Reggie, which would probably not be a bad thing.
they have the power to do. They have no inhibitions against violence, torture, and killing, not from the day they’re born. And every individual among
have to make certain that we counter that influence, particularly in Helemia, and shape it into something positive. I suggest you do that by giving both of your twins complete access to your minds, as they had complete access to
for intuitive ability. But you and I and our families are not known for particularly noteworthy psionic abilities, among the elves at least.
and smiled and caressed her own tummy, which had not begun to swell yet, before
her psionics constantly, even
the way you act around us lately, and the way you look, it’s easy to forget how incredibly capable and experienced you
combat and pain. I still can’t believe they broke Kragorram’s mental Shields, even if he was asleep! Since Quewanak’s training, I know he’s got some
is indeed amazing.” Alilia smiled. “Raising exceptional children can be more challenging, but it’s definitely more rewarding as well. Bezedil was a handful and then some, but I’ve loved every minute I’ve spent with him. And
our mating, not me! As you say, it’s likely his blood that’s given the twins their amazing abilities, not mine, and you’re the only female I know of who’s almost as
“It’s both thrilling and worrisome to consider the
abilities, or more importantly, if they use any new abilities, we’ll know about it right away. Unfortunately, I don’t have anything that does that specifically, and I’m still really crappy at designing new spells. I can copy anyone
spells from Povon after you all underwent Quewanak’s training. And with that knowledge firmly in mind, and with my own intuitive ability, I can design a spell such as