The woman stood before Jano triumphant but watching him sympathetically. “Sorry. Of course, it’s time for a proper introduction. My name is really Dareia, but I was in disguise as Darrel. I know it’s a little bit confusing, but it was for a good reason.” With a flash, the plain robes disappeared and were replaced by intricately woven fabric. Brown tousled hair draped down to her shoulders. She had a soft face, with bushy eyebrows and a small scar running across her lip.

“Wait. What?” He stammered. “But… I talked to Darrel…What do you mean? Where is he?”

She gave a sympathetic look with a gentle smile.“This is who I truly am, but I couldn’t risk even the small chance of someone recognising me here. The danger was too great. The disguise coupled with a limit on my spirit was enough to stay hidden. Unfortunately, the Emperor has a way of knowing these things, though I kept him off my trail for longer than I expected. You have to understand, it wasn’t because I didn’t trust you.” She paused as she noted the utter confusion on Jano’s face. His eyes were wider than she thought a healthy man’s eyes should open.

“Look, I didn’t want to get you caught up in this part. That’s why I disappeared. But I needed your skills. Do you know how many people have the control you do over stone? Not many, not in the entire Empire. Not to mention your background. And your potential is much greater than you know.”

Being this close, Jano could feel her power bearing down on him. He had never felt anything like it. Usually, he couldn’t really sense others' strength. Her power was unmistakable. He briefly remembered her little test for him when they had first met.

“The illusions?” He paused. “When you tested that I wouldn’t talk?” He said

She smiled further. “Yes. Precisely. I’ve always been rather gifted with illusion essence, but they really have their downsides. When someone disguises themselves like that, it’s called a Mask. Though it takes quite a lot of concentration to maintain a Mask like that for as long as I did. Unfortunately it seems that I have still been found regardless.” She gave a small sigh.

“Unfortunately this has sped up my plans somewhat. I always knew the Emperor would find me, but now he obviously knows about you.”

Jano tried to fix his face. He could feel that he was all scrunched up, he tried to get his head straight. “So you were just underneath? The whole time? Oh god Alsace.” He asked. He couldn’t quite put together what he was being told.

“Sort of. Yes. It’s like a mix of a disguise and projection all rolled into one.” She was looking past Jano now, thinking, as though trying to figure out what to do. “Ah. Yes.” She began to gather things as if to leave.

“They said that they have my wife. If they do, we need to get her back… she didn’t ask for any of this”. He could feel tears welling up inside as he thought about her. Then, as though realising what his words actually meant, fighting against the Emperor, he paused. “Can we really stop the Emperor?”

She looked at him curiously. “I think so. You know those contracts every citizen with magical talent signs as children? Those aren’t actually for your benefit. They’re for him. He draws on the essence of the citizens to strengthen himself and he has done so for decades.” She said. “It’s what I came back to change. If I could..”

Jano felt as though a house had been dropped on top of him. A stone house. “So… he‘s robbing us of our magic?” He stuttered. “The Ledger…”

She nodded with a soft smile. “Precisely, the Ledger. Essentially yes. It’s why you can just use channel essence without really thinking about it. Why you don’t need to learn runes. You’re lending some of his power, but he’s drawing an awful lot more off you.”

He glanced down at his wrist. “How… how does…” he began. “The Class system… The Slums, the Middle.”

She cut him off. “All made up. That’s why progression is slow. Social mobility is basically null. I’ve been back here observing and planning for almost a year and I’ve seen nobody truly improve their life in any meaningful way. You settle for small, incremental changes as they are important to you and you’ve worked hard to gain them. But it’s nothing compared to what other people have, outside the city. You’re lending some of the Emperor’s mastery in exchange for limiting yourself, without really knowing anything.”

He was shell shocked. As if the revelation that Darrel didn’t really exist and he had been dealing with a totally different, incredibly powerful Mage wasn’t enough. Everything he had ever known about his life was apparently a lie. Unless, she wasn’t telling the truth. What if she was saying this to keep him on her side? He glanced at her, she checked over her shoulder to see if the pile of Mages were still where she’d left them. It was quite clear to Jano that she didn’t need him. At least not for fighting. So why would she need to lie?

A few quiet moments passed, Jano regathered himself. “So how do we beat him then?” He asked.

“Well you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to—-“ she began.

“Don’t say that. If they have my wife, that’s hardly an option. Besides, I’ve helped you so far” he said.

She smiled at that last part. “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t think they knew about your involvement. Certainly not enough to track you, I thought they were still scrabbling around in the dark… Now, where did you put that scepter?”

She grabbed the bag from Jano and she tossed the stone he had brought back, she felt it in her hands and then with a quick motion, she pulled the top off the precious ceremonial sceptre. Her shoulders dropped and Jano could see the relief on her face. “I thought it might have been fake for a second.” She cradled the two gems. One was a deep onyx and the other a shining violet. They seemed to hum as she brought them closer to each other.

“The Empire is preparing for more expansion. Surrounding kingdoms have been threatened more and more by the Emperor and his lackeys. The Emperor plans to summon more of his Shimmer Soldiers to fight in his campaigns.”

“Hang on. The Empire has enemies? Shimmer Soldiers?” He felt as though his head was going to explode. He had no idea whether up was up at this point. Never mind whether down was down.

She smiled once more. “Yes, the Empire has enemies. Unfortunately for you, we don’t have time for a history lesson. Not a correct one anyway, not the mess you have been told. The Shimmer Soldiers are manifestations of death which will be at the Emperor’s beck and call. Calling them upsets the balance of essence which all things must preserve. It’s an ancient magic, one which used to require a whole army of Mages. But with the Ledger, he can do it on his own.”

“None of this brings us any closer to stopping it?” He asked.

“That’s why we need to destroy the Ledger. Or disrupt it. Or something. These gems will grant us access to the Ledger itself. We need to get going. If he knows I’m here, then he will try to find me. He will wait to summon the Soldiers, even as powerful as he is, it will leave him in a weakened state for days afterward. And I don’t think he would risk that when I’m around.” She said as she turned back to the pile of Mages on the dusty floor.

“What will that do to us? The citizens?” He immediately regretted asking as she stopped and turned to look at him.

“Well. That’s a rather complicated question. Suffice to say that everyone who has a contract with the Emperor will find themselves with a lot less power than they have now. But, and this is a very big but.” She paused for effect. “They will be free to become as talented as they like, with the right guidance of course.”

Jano could feel himself staring, but he couldn’t pull himself out of it. Thoughts raced through his mind. People wouldn’t be stuck at whatever Class level they were assigned. It was exactly what he had always wanted, a chance to better himself and carve out a better life for him and Alsace. But she was caught. “Come on. Let’s seal them in this place and get out of here.”

“Even those that don’t have much magical talent at all?” He said as he ran to catch up with her.

“Though some are stronger than others. Everyone has the ability to channel essence and grow stronger with magic. You just haven’t been told it. Because it was easier to give you all defined Classes and jobs and talents so that the Emperor could steal your power on the sly.”

As he caught up with her, she sniffed at him. “You absolutely stink. We can’t go back to the Middle, they will be looking out for us. But we definitely need to find you a bath.”

A bath wasn’t top of his concerns at the moment. There was so much to unpack. But Dariea was the key to getting his wife back. He sniffed his now partially dried clothing. She was certainly right about the smell.