Thana turned her head, her face neutral save for her eyes, which were a mixture of intense and worried. “She wanted you there, and yet she did not want you there. Shame warred with desire, and in Paui shame won. But I feel that a moment of shame is worth far less than a fulfillment of desire, so I ignored her request to keep you away from the trials.”

“I’m glad you did.” Sechen said, swiveling her head as a plate crashed into the back of Paui’s head. She hissed through her teeth and winced in sympathy. “Not so much right now, though.”

“I didn’t do so well that time.” Paui tried to laugh, then let out a low groan at the pain it brought on. “Did Thana say if I did good enough?”

“Thana says that you did better than good enough.” Thana said as she reappeared next to Paui’s recovery table with a vial of toxic green salve. “You pushed through to the end, something hopefuls struggle to do even with multiple other hopefuls taking a portion of the attacks for them. Now, that isn’t to say I recommend asking for a force bond when you meet with Runfree…”

Paui vigorously shook her head. “You don’t have to recommend that. I already know that I’m going to ask for a speed bond.”

“Not going for fluidity again?” Sechen asked, tapping Paui on the shoulder with a smirk, but found herself agreeing with Paui. She’d done damn well in the fluidity trial, but the speed trial couldn’t even keep up with her. And she’d had fluidity Issi for years before the trial.

“I just felt better while I had speed Issi.” Paui admitted with a smile. “Like this was actually me doing everything, and not the Issi carrying me. And the fact it wasn’t the type dad helped me get last time helps a little, too.”

Thana had a small smile as she leaned down, helping Paui roll over on her side. On anyone else that smile would have felt insincere, but on Thana it radiated childlike joy and excitement. “I’ll be more than happy to help you with the initial learnings. It’s been a long while since I had a student who could keep up with my teachings, and I have a feeling you’ll surpass even them.”

Paui hissed as Thana rubbed the salve onto a bruise at the base of her neck that hardened into a scaly mass as the life Issi worked its wonders.

“I’m twenty-four, aunt Thana. If I wasn’t a little better than teenagers, I’d be a complete failure.”

“You should’ve seen Elach.” Sechen snorted. “He was so weak I thought he’d been hiding his Issi, but nope, he was actually just that weak.”

“Elach?” Thana turned to Sechen as her hands continued working on Paui. “Is he one of your friends?”

“Uh, not exactly. He’s the reason we’re here in the first place. Because he died. Or wasn’t dead yet? I don’t really know.” Sechen sighed. “We came here to ask Hoalt to help make him better, but I haven’t seen him since we went to the pillar almost two weeks ago, so he might be alive now? Or he’s completely dead, and Hoalt screwed us out of our deal.”

“Hoalt wouldn’t do that.” Paui and Thana said in unison.

Sechen raised her hands in defence. “Because contracts are so important here. I know, I know, just throwing out possibilities.”

“Do you think we should go see if Elach’s alive yet before we go back to the pillar?” Paui asked, trying to turn to face Sechen but stopping with a whine of pain. “If we have to go on without Prisoner, maybe he could help us out?”

“Prisoner?” Thana muttered under her breath. “You have a prisoner for a comrade?”

“No, that’s his name.” Sechen frowned; that wasn’t quite right. “At least that’s what he wants us to call him. And just so you don’t feel out of the loop, we’ve got two others; Gilt and Metea/Irric.”

Thana nodded in understanding. “Excuse me for interrupting; continue where you’d left off.”

“I don’t think it’d be… helpful to go get Elach. I know he seemed pretty strong right before he died, but that was because of something he drank. You never met him before this, Paui, so all you have to go on is stuff Prisoner and I’ve told you, but he was scarily weak. He said he’d only been a practitioner for a few weeks, and I didn’t believe him, but looking back it seems like he’d been telling the truth.” Sechen leaned on her elbow, right behind Paui’s back. “I thought he was one of the people that attacked Revel and me. Or he was working with them, at least. Then he died by their hands, fighting with us while one of the few people I thought we could trust sold us to them for her own desires. Simple as that, but it don’t change the fact that he’s new. I was twice, maybe three times as strong as he was, and I was pretty much a walking skeleton.”

“You don’t think he could transform like you did?” Paui asked. “Who am I kidding, of course he couldn’t. He was dead, or taking a ‘mind vacation’, as Prisoner put it. You can’t get stronger just from inside your head.”

The sound of a stopper popping into a bottleneck drew Sechen’s attention, since Thana usually worked in utter silence. “Is she wrong, Thana?”

“She isn’t necessarily incorrect, but she also isn’t fully correct. Just as the container is connected all throughout your physical form by the pathways your Issi creates, your mind is equally connected through the headspace. The combined imagination of the practitioner and their wisp, touched by the seeds of their Issi bonds and changed by the foci you create.”

Thana tapped Paui on the shoulder and helped her down to her back, then placed two fingers on her forehead. “The physical part of a practitioner’s Issi cannot grow while they are in their headspace, but that is limited solely to the pathways. Dream and mind practitioners are most at home inside their headspaces, and yet they grow at the same rate as those who work in the waking world. If this Elach truly was awake all of this time, on a ‘mind vacation’ as your friend put it, then there is a chance he’s spent all that time growing stronger. He could also have been in a dreamless sleep the entire time, and will emerge without the knowledge that any time passed at all.”

“I think it’s worth the detour.” Paui insisted. “I’m still in the system, so it shouldn’t take more than an hour or two.”

“You should focus on tomorrow’s trial.” Sechen said, tapping Paui on the stomach. “Hoalt knows we’re doing something for him; I’ll go check on Elach while you and Thana get ready for Runfree’s last hurdle.”

“I’ll call ahead to let them know you’re coming.” Paui insisted, grabbing Sechen’s wrist and pulling her so their eyes locked. “You’re coming back for tomorrow, though, right? Even if Elach is awake, you’re going to be here for me?”

“Of course. What kind of friend do you think I am?” Sechen scoffed, smiling wide and gripping Paui’s hand. “I’ll be here even if Elach’s somehow as strong as Hoalt now. You can count on me.”

“I know Paui said she’d call ahead, but I really don’t see a reason why we’d need her to. My wife will see us right away.” Wix said as he opened the gates to the streets of the Gilded Night, stepping aside so Sechen could get through. “Why do you need to see the emperor, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Sechen nodded as Wix fell in step next to her. “He owes us something, and apparently that’s a big deal. Thanks for coming with me, by the way. I don’t really feel safe going out alone after the whole Brynn thing.”

“You’re welcome, but it really is no trouble. I have precious little to do while I’m forbidden from my normal work, and I had to return anyway to reconvene with Runfree. They have had…” Wix clicked his tongue in annoyance, “very little success with Hoalt.”

“Because some Glasrime apprentices showed up? Why’s that such a big deal, anyway?” Sechen asked. “I visited here and the glacier a few times before I met up with Prisoner, and that never seemed to raise any alarms.”

Wix nodded politely to a woman in a flowy shirt, sandals, and a floppy straw hat. She smiled back with a tip of her hat, and Sechen caught a glimpse of insect-like plating on the back of her arms.

“Glasrime keeps their apprentices close to their chest, so to speak. They are their most loyal followers, and in some cases their greatest weapons. They swear unwavering loyalty to Glasrime alone, even if they attain other bonds, and have never been seen in another city center such as ours without something terrible happening.” Wix gently nudged Sechen to the side as a practitioner with grey stone scales on their cheeks and a pair of huge stone wings trundled by, muttering an embarrassed apology as they tried to pull the appendages closer to themselves. “They are an ill-omen in our city, and equally as shunned in Foxborough, so much so that even the sight of them is enough to raise the city’s hackles.”

“So even if they aren’t here to destroy the city, they could send all the powerful people here into a paranoid frenzy?” Sechen guessed.

“Exactly right. You saw how Runfree reacted, which is why Hoalt did not put out the call of danger even though he had to be aware of their presence. Instead, for instance, he might have sent a group of unaffiliated practitioners after the problem.” Wix glanced over at Sechen to gauge her reaction, and after a moment of not finding what he was looking for, he sighed and continued. “Hoalt wouldn’t send you into the Pillar without a good reason, of that I’m sure, but it seems the Glasrime practitioners have a vendetta with you specifically. Not to sound callous, but it would make the most sense to remove you from the city.”

Sechen kept her face as unreadable as she could. Wix seemed loyal to his family first, and anyone else far after that, which could end up being dangerous if things escalated. “Could be he doesn’t think this is a big deal, since we don’t plan on staying here for much longer. Could be he wants to use us as bait for the people who attacked me. Hells, maybe he doesn’t care at all and just wanted us to leave him alone with the least amount of fuss. I don’t know what goes on in a tyrant’s head.”

“Neither do I.” Wix agreed. “We’re turning left at the next street, then a right, then we follow that curving street all the way to the Emperor’s palace. Would you mind if we walk in silence? I have to go over my report to Runfree once more.”

“I don’t mind at all. Gives me more time to appreciate the scenery.” Sechen thumbed at a property that seemed to be made entirely of mirrors, her own reflection distorted a hundred times over in the bizarre curves of the property. “This place is a treasure trove of interesting sights.”

Wix didn’t speak once over the next hour. Not when another practitioner gave them a wide berth on the street, not when he hopped over a manifestation’s tail that almost took Sechen out at the knees, and not when he stopped at the park-like boundary to Hoalt’s home. Sechen didn’t even hear the next words he spoke, as he wandered off into the yard without so much as a goodbye.

“I have to be back by tomorrow at ten in the morning!” Sechen called out, hoping Wix heard her as he disappeared behind Hoalt’s home. “Hope he didn't want me to follow him.”