The lecture was almost over anyway. And time was a factor, Scipio knew.

There was an hourglass on one of the 

counters in the back of the room. He walked over to it, picked it up, held it up so Imbris could see it but her 
students couldn’t, turned it over so the sand started running out of it, placed it back on the granite-topped 
counter, and crossed his arms. Leaned against the counter. 

Imbris received the message. “We’ll wrap this up next week,” she said to the six students in the room, pointed at 
a young lady. “Miss Tareija,” the young Riojan woman had already snatched her notebook up and was hurrying 
out of the room. “I grant you these extra minutes to make it to your surveillance class on time for once! Be a 
shame to be drummed out of the Actian School for tardiness after all you’ve been through.” The student was 
already gone. 

“The rest of you, there will be a test at the end of next week’s lecture, you may bring your quills and ink but you 
will not need them, the test will be…,” the five remaining students paused in their ritual gathering of supplies 
and looked at their instructor. “Physical,” she smiled. The students groaned and filed out of the room.  

“​Labor Noster​, everyone,” the willowy grey elf instructor said. The students repeated the motto as they left. 

Imbris closed the books on her desk, but didn’t bother to put them back on the shelves. “Young master Scipio,” 
she said, “what is our business together this day?” 

“The Vilesilencer asks for you,” Marcellus said, standing somewhat at attention. 

Imbris walked to the back of the room and stood before the young human. “Ah, he asked for me, but he sent 
you​. What have you been up to, young man?” 

Marcellus squirmed, trying to think of a way to politely urge the great lady to hurry. 

“It’s Ringwell,” she said for him, “it’s your team of mercenaries--helltroopers of all things, and something’s gone 
wrong.” 

“Professor, time is a factor…,” Marcellus started but Imbris put her hand on his shoulder, steering him toward 
the door. 

“Isn’t it always,” she said, smiling. 

* * * 

“This is unusual,” Imbris said, looking at the hooded, bound, unconscious dragonborn. 

“She found Ringwell independent of our team,” the Vilesilencer said.  

Imbris picked up the knight’s shield, made the heavy shield seem light. She held it by the edge, in one hand, 
turning it over as though it was as light as paper. She reached out with her other hand and touched the deep 
azure field split by a thin white line ending in a starburst. “Interesting,” she said. 
“She didn’t know what it was,” Marcellus explained. “Then our team caught up to her and King, that’s...that’s 
the commander of the Chain of Acheron told her...everything.” 

“Everything?” Imbris said. 

The Vilesilencer frowned at Marcellus Scipio, his needle-thin tusks adding to the overall air of menace. 

Marcellus shook his head. “He was trying...he was honest with her,” he said with a shrug. “He was trying to earn 
her trust.” 

Imbris held the knight’s shield up to the window, looked at it set against the faceted blue of the sky in their 
pocket world. The blue of the shield matched the blue of the crystal sky. “Interesting,” she said. 

She sighed and turned to the recumbent knight slumped in a chair. She looked at the dragonborn for a moment 
and then tossed the shield on the ground in front of the knight. It landed with a loud clang, startling Marcellus 
Scipio. 

“Trust is one thing,” Imbris said. “Obedience another.” She turned to the Vilesilencer. “Why did you call for 
me?” 

The orc commander of the Sapphire Sky gestured to the knight. “We need to reweave the tapestry of her 
memories,” he said. “Send her back into the world without knowledge of us or Ringwell or…” 

“Or anything?” Imbris arched a thin eyebrow. 

“Her knowledge is dangerous,” the Vilesilencer said. 

“All knowledge is dangerous,” Imbris muttered. Marcellus took a small step backwards, letting two of the 
people he looked up to hash this out. 

Imbris stood, frowning, looking down at Lady Orozivaar. “I don’t see how our situation is markedly different 
from…” she pointed to Marcellus without looking. When he didn’t notice the prompt, she snapped her fingers. 

“Oh, ah...King. Commander of the...Chain of...Acheron,” he finished lamely. 

“How is our situation any different from his?” 

“The difference is; we can do something about her,” the Vilesilencer said. 

“Your mercenaries could have done something about her,” Imbris said. “They could have murdered her. I’m 
vaguely surprised they didn’t. Well done, young man,” she said to Marcellus, who smiled. 

“Don’t you think that’s a little extreme?” the Vilesilencer said. 

Imbris stared at the orc, then looked to Marcellus watching hopefully, then looked back at the orc. “I’ve been 
too subtle, I see. The point I’m making…” she paused and turned to look at the Moon Elf who dominated the 
far end of the room, floating over the Well of All Worlds, and then to the Vilesilencer’s coterie of administrators 
who attended him here in M ​ are Crisium​. “Would you all excuse us for a moment?” she asked. 

Like the students, whom many of the loremasters and tacticians once were, they filed dutifully out of the room 
until it was just Imbris, Marcellus Scipio, the Vilesilencer, and the meditating Moon Elf remaining in the room 
with the unconscious knight. 

Imbris walked over to the planning table and sat down. “I’m saying that’s its not clear to me modifying her 
memory is meaningfully different than murder.” 

The Vilesilencer walked up to the table, stood across from Imbris, but didn’t sit down. “It’s self-evidently 
different.” 

“In degree, but not in kind.” 

“You’re talking about the ethics of the thing.” 

“Of course I am, and so should you be.” 

“I’m talking about stopping Ajax.” 

Imbris pointed her finger at the drugged knight. “How does rooting around in someone else’s mind and 
reordering her thoughts into something more c​ onvenient​ stop Ajax?” 

The Vilesilencer’s hands curled into fists and he leaned them on the edge of the red-upholstered table. “Ajax has 
been our sole concern for three years, he…” 

“Our prime concern,” Imbris interrupted. “Not our sole concern.” Marcellus looked from Imbris to the 
Vilesilencer. He had never seen anyone interrupt the orc before. 

“My ​only​ concern since the Pale Light made the Pronouncement,” the Vilesilencer insisted. “We are…,” he made 
a catching guesture with one hand, his skin so dark blue as to be almost black. His fingernails like claws. “...this 
close to cracking Ringwell, a chance we never thought we’d have. We have agents who are both capable ​and 
expendable, we…” 

“I’d be curious to know how expendable young master Scipio thinks they are,” Imbris interrupted again, 
looking at Marcellus. 

The Vilesilencer shook his head. “Stop trying to confuse the issue.” 

“Darrengar,” Imbris leaned back in her chair, relaxed. “I’m frankly surprised we haven’t seen this side of you 
earlier. You have long been the voice of reason here, any misgivings I​ ​ might have had about the Pale Light’s 
decision evaporated decades ago. But now you are openly and somewhat brusquely advocating for violating the 
mind of an innocent person. A knight, no less, and a knight of the church. Why? What crime did she commit? 
What threat does she pose to ​us? A
​ s far as I know, she was just doing her job. Since when did we punish people 
for that?” 

The orc commander of the order said nothing but seethed in silence. Imbris continued. 

“It’s because we’re so close to a breakthrough that you’re behaving so out of character,” she observed, not 
unkindly. 

“We’ve done worse, much worse, to keep this place a secret.” 

“Only to our enemies,” Imbris said. “This isn’t the Blackiron Pact, or the Grave. It’s a knight of the church. 
Obscure order,” she looked at the shield resting on the ground, “but that’s neither here nor there.” 

“So we let her go? Lose Ringwell and everything in it to the church?” 

“I’m not saying that, I’m saying you’re failing to convince me. Your only argument seems to be ‘it bothers me 
that this isn’t easier.’ Well, I’m sorry, nothing about this is easy, nor was meant to be. We are the Sapphire Sky. 
Let the Great Houses operate By Any Means Necessary. The means happen to matter quite a lot to some of us, 
her not least of all.” Imbris jerked her head in the direction of the floating Moon Elf. “And you, traditionally.” 

“She knows about Ringwell. About what it contains. About us.” 

“Many people will know about Ringwell, a​ nd​ what it contains before this is all over. You’ve known that, 
though you seem to have forgotten it. What she knows about us? Well...rumors. A phrase. Of little use to her 
and little threat to us besides. Anyway, she’ll have bigger concerns than us once she realizes the import of what 
this King told her.” 

“A g​ eas​.” The Vilesilencer offered. 

“Would work, it would buy us some time, but it would enslave the young woman to us in ways I don’t find 
drastically m
​ ore comforting than murder. Or violating her mind. She’s not an enemy and I refuse to treat her 
that way, I hope I’ve made myself clear.” 

“Let me make myself clear,” the Vilesilencer said, and Imbris frowned and lowered her head, listening. Taking 
him seriously. “This knight, and what she knows, are a threat to our operation. I’m asking you for help.” 

Imbris looked at the unconscious knight, and thought. After a few moments she said, “She found Ringwell o​ n 
her own​. I want you to think about what that means, Vilesilencer. It means what we already knew. The wards are 
failing. The forbiddences that sealed Ringwell away from the world are dissolving. Now, it’s one knight. Who 
knows what’s next? Millions of books in the city, seven great libraries the envy of every historian of the age. 
What happens when references to Ringwell in these libraries ​unerase themselves?​ What are you prepared to do 
then?” 

It was the Vilesilencer’s turn to be exasperated. He sighed. “We will burn those bridges once we cross them. At 
the moment, I am ​prepared​ to have her mind wiped, I am p​ repared​ to put her under a ​geas​, I am ​even prepared​ to 
give her back to the Chain and let them dispose of her. Some of these solutions seems less drastic than others to 
me, but you’re not giving me any options. I come to you as our lecturer on enchantment. Not ethics.” 

Imbris couldn’t argue with this, she wanted to do something, but what?  

“What about…?” Marcellus indicated the Moon Elf patron of the order. 

Imbris perked up. “Do YOU want to petition her, young master Scipio? Because I don’t! We’ve already 
annoyed her enough this century.” 

The Vilesilencer looked from Imbris to Marcellus. “Yes,” he said. 

“I’m sorry, what?” Imbris asked. 

“Petition her, Scipio,” the Vilesilencer said. Marcellus looked from the orc to the grey elf, unsure if his master 
was serious. 

“Darrengar…,” Imbris warned. 

“The Chain of Acheron were your idea,” the Vilesilencer said. “They got us here, but moreover…,” he looked at 
Imbris, “they could have killed this knight, and instead tried to earn her trust with honesty. That counts for 
something, it’s the kind of thing she,” he nodded at the floating Celestial, “likes.” 

“I’m not sure,” Marcellus Scipio said, “Wouldn’t it be better if you…?” But the Vilesilencer was already guiding 
the young man toward the Celestial. 

“First time for everything,” he said. “Your father was more scared and was older than you, if that helps.” 

Marcellus stood before the Well of All Worlds, and the Celestial whose name meant I​ ts Pale White Light 
Glitters Off The Ripples In A Pool. 

“Very curious to see where this leads,” Imbris said to herself. 

Marcellus gulped. 

* * * 

“Oro?” Sir Melianus recognized her first. The other two took a moment. 

Lady Orozivaar strode down the nave of the small chapel. She prepared herself to report to the head of her 
order. 

“Orozivaar!” Sir Rangari bounded out of the pew he’d been sitting in and ran to embrace the gemdragon 
knight. 

He slammed into her, gripping her tightly. Then two more meteoric impacts as the other knights embraced her. 
“You’re alive!” they said variously. All three were crying. “It’s a miracle!” “A miracle!” 

She pushed them away. “What’s wrong what you? Black gods, I had too much to drink, I slept it off. Is that so 
great a cause for…,” she stopped, looking at the faces of the other knights. Her friends.  

“Wait,” Melianus said. “How do we know...this could be a trick?” 

“A t​ rick​?! Get hold of yourself man,” Orozivaar said. “What’s come over you lot?” 

“Look at her,” Vian said. “She looks...she looks fine.” 

“Of course I do!” 

Melianus calmed down. Peered at Orozivaar. “Lady, what is the date?” 

“What? It’s Belladi, surely.” 

The three knights shook their heads. “It’s not,” Rangari said. 

“It’s Erodi,” Vian said. 

“Three days?” Orozivaar said. “I wasn’t…,” she looked at her friends, understanding dawning. “I was out, but 
not for t​ hree days!​” 

The knights looked at each other. 

“Oro, what ​month​ is it?” 

Orozivaar blinked. She spun and looked outside. It h​ ad​ been colder. She turned back to her friends, answered 
them. 

“Lady…,” Rangari began. “Lady you disappeared ​one month ago​.” 

“You were declared dead,” Vian said. “The city...the city’s gone mad. Thousands are dead….” 

“Dead?” Orozivaar said. The world seemed to spin. 

Melianus put his hand on her shoulder. “Oro, what’s the last thing you remember?” 

Orozivaar took a deep breath, and began.