I am the song that sings the bird.
I am the leaf that grows the land.
I am the tide that moves the moon.
I am the stream that halts the sand.
I am the cloud that drives the storm.
I am the earth that lights the sun.
I am the fire that strikes the stone.
I am the clay that shapes the hand.
I am the word that speaks the man.
--Charles Causely, "I am the Song."

To Rolf, always -- it was the best of things to be married to Dustfinger.

To Ileen, who knows all about loss and was always there to understand and ease the pain.

To Andrew, Angie, Antonia, Cam and James, Caroline, Elinor, and last but for sure not least, Lionel and Oliver, who all brought so much light, warmth, and true friendship to dark days.

And to the City of Angels, which fed me with beauty and wilderness and with the feeling that I had found my Inkworld.

Moonlight fell on Elinor's bathrobe, her nightdress, her bare feet, and the dog lying in front of them.

Because it must be exciting in that other world, much more exciting than in his own . . .

The original title is Tintentod.