An elven pastor draws close to his much-awaited retirement. His human apprentice seems eager enough to take the reins, unburdened by the prejudice the sleepy river-town of Delster is capable of producing. Bear Kieren is a patient man, but he longs for the day when coddling and comforting humans is no longer his concern - until his goddess, the mighty mountain queen, Huil, rumbles to life during a late-winter storm, and Bear begins to suspect there's...