With Mayre's reluctant permission, Liya also invites her human boyfriend Little Fish, who has been apprenticing under Berlin the blacksmith, to the wedding.

Sensing the surge of darkness released by Meyla, Mayre entrusts the Gem of Life to Liya, but warns her not to show it to Fish because it must remain uncorrupted by desire and greed, which humans are particularly prone to.

Accompanied by Berlin, Barnac and his dogs Bow and Arrow, Fish visits Liya's home, where he gains an enthusiastic welcome by her but a frosty reception by the other Elves, including Alyan, who are prejudiced against humans.

Meyla leaves Mayre imprisoned in her fortress, the Dark Valley, a black mountain surrounded by lava furnaces, and travels to the north to join the soul of a great dragon frozen in the ice with her gem.

As the companions leave, they miss the likewise resurrected Meyla lying amidst the tree's foliage, purged of the darkness that had consumed her.