Honed was Durfil’s skill in shaping stone, and with utmost care he shaped the clear crystals which he had found in the pool of Shêvannah. Every stroke, every file, every cut he made with precision. One he made each day, and on the seventh day, he presented them to Áronyeh: seven perfect gems, each the color of the sky. Áronyeh then gave one gem to each of them: to Rayôn and to Qeyrah his wife; to Vúnyeðel and to Shereynah his wife; to Durfil, to Qeylen, and to Rhonnah, though she was still an infant in her mother’s arms.

Then Rayôn held his gem up to Áronyeh, and Áronyeh breathed into it. The stone flooded with a radiant light, a flashing flame of brilliant white. Then the light calmed, and Rayôn could gaze at it. Its flame shone more steadily, though it still flickered, as though it were alive and moving.

Áronyeh next filled Qeyrah’s stone with light, and then each of their children; each gem likewise flooded with the dancing flame. When Áronyeh had finished, he said, “I am with you always, even when you do not see me. These stones will always remind you of this, and will guide you to remember my words in times of doubt. And whenever a son or daughter is born to any of you, Durfil shall make him a gem, and I shall breathe my light into it.”

Rayôn and his family took courage at these words. The stones that Áronyeh had given them they kept with them. They named them the Orlôaven – that is, the gems of light.

And then they began to notice that there was something not completely physical about these stones. Some of the men fastened their orlôaven to strings around their necks, and the stones would grow smaller, and lighter, until were the size of a grape; yet when they put the orlôaven in their hands the stones would return to their normal size and weight. Also, when one of them would leave his stone, the stone would follow him and remain at his side. Sometimes the women bound their orlôaven in their hair, and the stone would grow lighter, even while remaining the same size. In this, they saw Áronyeh’s goodness in providing for them, for they would not loose the gift that Áronyeh had given them, and his gift would not become a burden.

Now, after Rhonnah was born, Qeyrah bore to Rayôn four more sons and four more daughters, and to each of them Áronyeh also gave an orlôav; thus, Qeyrah bore to Rayôn seven sons and six daughters, and there were fifteen orlôaven in all.