Thanks
You have given me some nice ideas. I won't explain everything here now, because I'll spoil the "new" story for you. However, I'll incorporate some of your suggestions:
Spoiler:
1. Elani will become quite a different character, creating additional possibilities regarding the Lich fight and her relationship to Koryna and Marlena.
2. Koryna will not only believe she is the better cleric, it will actually be the truth, at the beginning of the story at least.
3. Having been appointed assistant, Koryna is strengthened in the belief she is the better cleric and will one day succeed Marlena as next Ayreia.
4. Koryna and Elani are good friends, but Elani will have a trait that
really ticks Koryna off, big time.
5. The "Reflections" scene will become an argument between Marlena and Koryna, regarding points 2, 3 and 4, after Marlena tells her that *she* wouldn't have chosen Koryna as an assistant but was commanded by her goddess to do so.
6. After Elani becomes Ayreia, Koryna will see she has been wrong and that it was only a matter of time for Elani to skyrocket to the top position; something Marlena and Ariana realized a long time ago already. She will now fully support Elani without hard feelings.
Extra: I'll remove the ghouls, the locket, and Ariana's interjection int he glade scene. I'll keep the description in place. I think only VERY few readers who have played the Shannara game AND remember the opening scene of it well enough will recognize it. The reference to McCoy will be removed, and the staff's deflector shield renamed
Edit: don't worry. You have brought up some very valid points, and you have handed me some great ideas to make the story work better.
PS: Graham, if you have any suggestions regarding the dialogue, they'd be most welcome. As I said in one of my other comments, I've never written a single line of dialog before March 6, so that'll probably be the problem. Maybe I could just copy some dialog and poems from Lord of the Rings? Hm... better not.