After over two years of a childless marriage, the Dyer's wife has banished all thought of parenthood and pleads with Barak to do the same. It is her shadow that the Nurse attempts to buy for the Empress in exchange for a grand life of riches and the amorous service of a handsome young man - magically served up to her by the Nurse. Persuaded, the Dyer's wife strikes a deal with the Nurse and the Empress who agree to pretend they are her cousins come to serve Barak's household for three days during which she is to relinquish her shadow. The matrimonial bed instantly splits into two - to Barak's accepting bewilderment. Observing all these the Empress feels sympathy for the good-natured Barak - and humanity as a whole.

In a fit of hysteria, the Dyer's wife falsely confesses to infidelity (though nothing has happened between her and the youth), selling her shadow, and renouncing motherhood forever. Enraged, Barak's instinct is to kill her. But nature intervenes - a quake during which they are separated and swallowed up by the earth! Meanwhile, in the in-between world, the Emperor suspects (wrongly) that the Empress has betrayed him on her journey to the world of humans. He is compelled to kill her, but can't bring himself to commit the act. The Empress, now infused with compassion, refuses to take the shadow, knowing full well that it would condemn its original owner to certain death by Barak's own hand.

- © GC/FanFaire 2004