"It was quite a shock when it happened," Nicklus told them, his eyes looking pained now as he considered the past. "I did everything I could to mitigate the crisis, but I have not been able to change things."
Nicholaas sat on the edge of his seat, staring at his counterpart in disbelief. "The portal to the elf world collapsed?"
"Yes. There one day, as it had been for millennia of time, and then simply gone the next."
Nicholaas looked over at Max a moment, and then back to Nicklus.