Amdirlain’s PoV - Ijmti

Naamah's grin had broadened at Laodice’s pronouncement. “Let’s get going then. I’ll get my kin to send me images of the fortresses I’ve never seen—a few planes have hundreds.”

That the two knew each other shouldn’t have surprised Amdirlain, ‌yet the knowledge sat uncomfortably. “I’ve got a question for Laodice before you leave.”

“There are some things I can’t tell you and some things I don’t know,” cautioned Laodice.

Amdirlain shrugged. “You’re here now, and it's a chance to get an answer I might need. The Lómë called Orhêthurin 'the Titan’s Executioner' because she kept working on his designs. How did she know the areas to work on with the spire sealed?”

The weight of Laodice’s presence touched her mind directly, past the barrier of mental protection Hidden afforded her. Laodice kept her mental touch light, yet each word rocked Amdirlain’s mind. “Gideon handled blending Orhêthurin’s work list with the activity in the Titan’s Forge, and I know you have a Skill where they give you information even now. Have you considered that the original purpose of that Skill isn’t what you’ve used it for?”

“A clue would be great,” insisted Amdirlain.

“You use it at the micro-level, but Orhêthurin worked at the macro level. Try to use Analysis on an entire species and its relative balance or what is missing from a planet. Orhêthurin used it on patches of stars to learn if more needed to be made and other such works; I’d say that is beyond what you can currently handle.”

At Amdirlain's nod of admission, Laodice shrugged. “Give it time.”

“You two done talking in your minds? Some sisters are going to get away,” prompted Naamah.

“Only if they know what’s good for them,” stated Amdirlain.

“My girls are killing them; some will run instead,” argued Naamah.

Laodice glanced between them before shifting her spear back into her right hand. “Project the first image, Naamah. May we meet again after you’re free, Amdirlain.”

“Have fun-”

The pair vanished before Amdirlain even finished and, trying to dismiss her concerns, Amdirlain opened a Gate to the digging site she’d started on Hrz’Styrn. Quickly returning the digging equipment and constructs to storage, Amdirlain sent a message to Sarah. “Naamah and Laodice are free.”

“I’m talking to Ebusuku and Farhad about the assassin’s guild; she mentioned you wanted an introduction to Naamah. Should I assume it was that murderous berserker slut who helped you get what you wanted?”

“Naamah’s accumulated Death energy let me speed up the breakdown of Leviathan’s life force binding her, Laodice, and the Sisterhood. Oh, and it got me not one, but two Tier 7's because I destroyed the Blood Monk Prestige Class. Destruction still allows for T7s—I need to destroy sizeable organisations rather than physical objects.”

“Enough messages. Let's meet in Sanctuary; it's our most secure meeting place,” replied Sarah.

“No, I won’t keep dragging my troubles into Gail’s Sanctuary. I have to hide my auras going into the place and, with the other night’s announcement, enter the place invisibly as well. Give me a little while to create something suitable,” objected Amdirlain.

With the Message sent, Amdirlain used a Gate to access the Outlands directly and was confronted with a wall of long grass that rose above her head. Stepping across the threshold, she pushed clear and hurried to seal it and wipe the creeping miasma away. Hearing the wildlife hidden within the grass, she spent extra time ensuring Ijmti’s cancerous energy was removed before teleporting.

Not wanting to work in the open with what she had planned, Amdirlain created a dome deep in the cliff face half a kilometre from where she had the two fallen imprisoned. Setting sound barriers to avoid attracting the attention of any burrowing creatures, Amdirlain paused to reconsider the design of a Demi-Plane she’d had in mind.

Having experienced Gail’s Sanctuary firsthand, she realised it presented too much temptation to hide away from the realm. In that respect, a comfortable sanctuary was the last thing she needed, providing fewer opportunities to stretch her abilities or make a difference to anyone.

It took a few hours considering options before Amdirlain came to a decision and messaged Sarah. “Sorry for the delay. I’ll create a Demi-Plane suitable for training various skills I’ve neglected. It will be handy for planning, but nothing comfortable like Gail’s place.”

“Take your time. Farhad’s been called away. Let me know if you need me to meet you, so you have someone to bounce ideas off.”

Amdirlain took a dramatically different approach to Gail’s pleasant glades. Despite knowing she could alter it internally once done, Amdirlain still spent hours preparing. Reviewing her memories of the monastery and those recovered from Orhêthurin of arcane and mundane traps was time-consuming.

Creating reams of paper, Amdirlain sat on the stone floor and started to draw idly, plotting out pathways. The first spring-based spike trap she doodled beside a path had a notification appear.

[Trap Design Unlocked!

Trap Design (1)

Assassin Class detected; Class bonus levels added.

Trap Design (1 -> 9)

Disable Device detected, insufficient levels to gain Synergy effect for Knowledge Skill.]

Amdirlain held off on the temptation to crunch up the drawing. “Why make a Demi-Plane filled with traps to train against?”

Orhêthurin’s training room came to mind, and this time, the songs within the mechanisms were audible; the obstacles hadn’t been the product of magic or True Song as Amdirlain had first believed. Beneath the floor, timed mechanisms and pressure plates set off mundane and arcane effects. Orhêthurin herself had designed simple puzzles to relax with compared to the interlocking connections in establishing a planet filled with life.

“It was a game to Orhêthurin that she’d then push herself testing to train her reaction time. It’s been so long since I relaxed properly.”

Bringing the pendant out from her flesh, Amdirlain considered the connections within its song stretching away across the planes. Though basic, its formation was similar to vague memories of the link between Sarah’s Soul and her own. Amdirlain heard barriers and protections against arcane and True Song intrusions along that connection to the plinth. Though Amdirlain couldn’t sense them within her link to Sarah, something deep within her screamed out danger when she considered the Oath. Shuddering at a consuming danger that lurked on memory’s edge caused Amdirlain to recoil.

Even when safely away from the link, Amdirlain physically shook and worked through a vocalisation exercise to calm herself.

“Something’s protecting the link,” breathed Amdirlain, and a random thought had her sending a Message.

“Ebusuku, can you sense Oath links—the link, not the individual?”

Ebusuku replied immediately, her voice rich with amusement. “Is it a day for random questions and changes of plans? I can sense the individual at the other end of an Oath but not the link itself. I’m glad you came through dealing with Naamah; I hope she didn’t injure you.”

As another image came to mind, Amdirlain sent her reply. “Naamah was a bit pushy, like someone wearing harnesses and an aggressive attitude who I vaguely remember. It took repeatedly waving revenge against Balnérith under her nose to get her to focus. Laodice swept Naamah up in plans for more revenge when I was done; they certainly seemed comfortable talking.”

With the last words impressed into the Spell, Amdirlain sent it on its way and teleported to the prison cells. Within both her prisoners, she could hear the oath links that she’d locked down to prevent communications options.

Analysis quickly confirmed the links’ nature.

[Subservient Oath link

Holder: Moloch]

“Do I have a way through your firewall, Moloch?” laughed Amdirlain. “Wonder if it would let me bypass his resistances? What can I do with you, you naughty little link?”

A dancing step took her between cells, and a bounce of the pendant made Amdirlain realise how distracted and scattered she’d become. Putting thoughts of traps and training aside, she stopped and focused on the closest Fallen’s Oath link. After carefully recording the music into a memory crystal, she’d returned to the dome she carved for her project.

Dropping to the floor, Amdirlain knelt and let out a slow breath. “Too many frights and bad news on top of each other. I want to get Zen Meditation back—the plinth’s judgement and close calls with Naamah have me on edge.”

The thought of instinctively reacting to all of Femme Fatale’s prompting to take advantage of a target caused Amdirlain’s skin to crawl. Not wanting to risk that outcome, Amdirlain avoided the practice that she knew would unlock Meditation, and flowed upright with Kopis in each hand. One strike turned into another, and Amdirlain centred herself in the weapon practice, letting her fear and grief out in bursts of controlled power with the blows. A practice session of Devouring Cacophony provided a healthy outlet for emotions she’d learnt not to bottle up.

Her combat techniques settled into a gliding dance when that initial emotional rollercoaster started to smooth out. Allowing herself to relax amid the blurs of motion, Amdirlain listened to the music within each action. Notes caused by her body’s shifting tensions and the impacts rippled through her leg bones. She didn’t try to use them but listened and let Resonance and Harmony work together to understand them. Orhêthurin had danced instinctively, but Amdirlain felt the need to know and plan.

When the weight of the emotions was lifted, Amdirlain returned to the drawings she’d started. This time, instead of considering traps or anything else, she concentrated on drawing out a planar layout that looked like a massive neural network.

[Drawing [J] (2 -> 3)]

With the prompt bringing forth a smile, Amdirlain created reams of paper and set to work. One cross-section and perspective at a time, she laid out drawings of a spherical space, with a network of pathways, buildings and platforms linking a core to the inner wall of the sphere. Hundreds of platforms she intended to be the size of sports ovals were suspended in the space between pathways. Unsupported, only the rules of the Demi-Plane held them aloft, like the monastery floating in Limbo.

Working at a pace that threatened to have pencils and paper burst into flames, it still took a day of work before she was satisfied. Bare staircases and structures showed the Monastery’s influence on her designs. Though there weren’t yet traps or training facilities included, there were plenty of locations to put them in place later.

Within minutes of starting the song, the chamber blazed with creation’s glow, its lines showing the structure of a caged gazebo. The crystal’s music was interwoven with the Demi-Plane theme it supported instead of adding it after the fact. The greatest complexity wasn’t in what she immediately added but in what she enabled it to handle.

[Crafting Summary (Category: Legendary Item):

Greater Demi-Plane Seed: 17,800,000

Total Experience gained:

Fallen: +3,560,000

Scion: +3,560,000

Ascetic: +3,560,000

Ostimë: +3,560,000

Ontãlin: +3,560,000

True Song Genesis [Ap] (12->13)]

The crystal gazebo floated before her, its barely constrained energies obliterating the shadows within the chamber. Rather than linking it to the Outlands, Amdirlain hopped onto the platform and activated it in an unanchored state. The surrounding landscape vanished, and momentarily, the gazebo existed in the gap between planes, the already humming crystal keeping the Chaos that separated the realm's planes from touching her.

From the platform’s steps, the rules she’d embedded into the crystal set to work interacting with her imagination and the practice she’d had at Chaos Shaping. This Demi-Plane seed didn’t merely create a small bubble that pushed the Chaos back and set its structure in place; it drank in large gulps of Chaos before it sealed the Demi-Plane’s perimeter, and then its growth surged.

Around the platform, the shell expanded outwards, leaving the designed pathways, buildings, and platforms in its wake. There wasn't a single visible light source, yet the Demi-Plane illumination matched a cloudless morning’s daylight. Wards keyed to Amdirlain alone promised security far beyond what she managed for Gail years ago.

The pavilion’s crystal no longer blazed with the restrained forces and had settled down to a translucent appearance supporting all the wards within the place. The structure was far removed from anything she’d created singing crystals with the Lómë. It was tempting to hide it beneath a layer of stone, but Amdirlain decided it was time to come clean to one individual at least.

“Sarah, all done. I’ve got everything set for some limited company if you want to get to a location where I can open a Gate for you?”

“How fancy did you make it?”

“Monastery stark, since it's only a framework with the breathable air maintained by the Demi-Plane’s energy. Hollow earth set-up. Inner space is fifty-odd kilometres from the core to the inner layer of the shell. The shell is a hundred kilometres of tunnels and chambers I’ll trap for practise or use as workshops.”

“Sweetie, I thought you’d want sunlight?” asked Sarah, her message edged with concern.

“I’m not living here. It will just be for training and when I need to work undisturbed. Only showing you, Ebusuku, and Farhad if he’s back.”

“He’s not; it will just be the two of us. Be in the Outlands shortly.”

Amdirlain opened a Gate to Sarah when she received the next Message. The Gate’s outline framed them standing beneath some old-growth tree, and the pair stepped through without hesitation when they saw her waiting.

“Very stark indeed, but that's a beautiful latticework shell,” Ebusuku motioned towards the gazebo. “Which of the Lómë helped with that?

“None of them,” admitted Amdirlain. “I sang it into existence myself; Orhêthurin was the originator of True Song.”

It was one of the few times Amdirlain could remember catching Ebusuku off guard. She spun from her gaze tracing the pavilion's latticework to having her attention fixed solely on Amdirlain. Despite the blur of themes whirling around in her mind, it still took Ebusuku a few minutes to respond. “What are you talking about? Erwarth’s told me tales about a mystical songbird.”

“Orhêthurin was the biological daughter of the Titan, the individual known as the Titan’s Songbird,” advised Amdirlain. “It was Nicholaus' nickname for his daughter.”

Ebusuku's eyes widened, and she raised a hand to her temple. “Gideon just gave me an achievement called ‘Down the rabbit hole’. I’ve only seen those golden script announcements three times; what a way to get a fourth. Now to get that strange pronouncement.”

“What details did it give you about it?” asked Amdirlain.

“Just that the realm will never seem the same again,” grumbled Ebusuku, and she nodded to Sarah. “Who else knows?”

“You mean besides Nicholaus? I’m not sure I remember everyone, but certainly Moradin and Gideon. Bahamut knows, as does his counterpart, along with Sidero’s mother. Most of the entities from the early days never met Orhêthurin until there were Anar and Lómë about the place to confuse the issue. The elven courts met Orhêthurin when she had her Human appearance and name. Potentially Naamah’s mother, but again, I think they met before Orhêthurin changed.”

The recount of names had Moradin and Bahamut’s attention suddenly fixed on her Demi-Plane. While the wards she’d set in place were strong, nothing she could presently create represented a challenge to either of them.

“You didn’t mention Isa?”

“I never told her in that lifetime or this one. She’s too frequently with the Lómë, and I’m not up to informing them,” explained Amdirlain.

“I’ve had conversations with them about you in the past, Amdirlain; they both seem to have your well-being at heart. Being very careful with names is wise with the primordials you’re including. How does the curse even hold you at all?”

“Orhêthurin hated her power and eventually crippled herself, yet I’m far weaker than she’d ever been. My current True Song limits make me feel like I’m finally matching her capability with it when she was maybe eight or nine. Now there are certainly some Lómë stronger than I am at present.”

“How long have you known?”

“Does it matter?” asked Amdirlain carefully.

“No, it’s more me being curious,” admitted Ebusuku. “Not planning to rant at you, Amdirlain; I’m honoured you told me now.”

“Cycling Ki in the monastery let me recover memories,” Amdirlain sighed. “One of Orhêthurin’s memories was her husband rejecting her and his accusations when she admitted to her role.”

“This puts the Titan’s conversation with Erwarth and the others in a new light,” stated Ebusuku. “I’m surprised he gave them a chance from what Hestia’s told me or that he hasn’t done more for you.”

“The rules provided him power and control, but they restrict him. I could hear his pain when I spoke with him, but I’m not the daughter he lost,” stated Amdirlain. “Despite that, he tried to provide hints about my True Name, and the rules bit into him hard. Now that I’m free of Culerzic, discovering my True Name is another priority. I considered the need to cycle when I designed this Demi-Plane; it will handle me pouring the energy into it similarly to the Domain.”

“The True Song crystal defensive towers around the Domain?” enquired Ebusuku. “You said you didn’t know how that happened?”

“Technically, I didn’t then and still don’t. They’re a True Song construct. Though I remembered more, I didn’t have access to it, and they would have needed to be sung into existence,” noted Amdirlain. “While I have memories of Orhêthurin doing incredible things, to my knowledge, she never just willed something into existence. Though she created a lot, everything I can remember was through True Song.”

With her mind busily churning through possibilities, Amdirlain barely caught Ebusuku’s reply. “Thank you.”

Not catching on, Amdirlain frowned. “For what? The towers haven’t done anything, have they?”

“Not the towers. Would this realm have existed without Orhêthurin?” huffed Ebusuku.

“No.”

Stepping close, Ebusuku wrapped her arms around Amdirlain. “She might be dead, but you have her Soul, so the only person I can thank is you. I exist and got to make all my awful and wondrous choices. None of those choices, or my existence, would have occurred without Orhêthurin. Hestia told me when she last saw the Titan, he had his daughter cradled in his arms, and she was crying over the death of her mother and siblings.”

“I’ve got that memory; the perfect recall of memories I synchronise with isn’t fun. It feels like someone’s reached inside my chest and crushed my heart whenever I dwell on that memory. She had no other harrowing life experiences to compare it with, it was life-shattering. The extent of the child’s pain makes me want to throw up until I’m hollow,” declared Amdirlain.

“What child wouldn’t be grief-stricken at a beloved parent’s death?” asked Ebusuku.

“Grief-stricken, but also guilt-wracked. Orhêthurin never forgave anyone because she couldn’t forgive herself. She argued about going out with her mother the morning of her death, it only delayed her departure a few minutes, but it birthed too many what-ifs for Orhêthurin to theorise on."

“Amdirlain!” gasped Sarah. “Orhêthurin never mentioned an argument. Are you sure she was still dwelling on an incident from her childhood?”

Amdirlain shifted uncomfortably. “And she couldn’t keep a secret until it died of old age? It would have meant nothing on a normal day, and her mother didn’t raise her voice. However, Orhêthurin did what-ifs for so many aeons over it that she was still doing them when teaching Mori."

“That does sound like something she’d do,” admitted Sarah. “Getting caught on something and never letting it go.”

"This isn’t getting us a step closer to recovering Torm," said Amdirlain, changing the subject. "What information and options do we have regarding the assassin’s guild?”

Creating a wooden table and chairs on a nearby platform, Amdirlain led the way.

“How do you feel about becoming a member of the assassin’s guild?” asked Sarah.

“Where’s Farhad?” asked Amdirlain. “You said he’d been called away?”

“The Jade Emperor got in touch with him about the noise you made,” explained Ebusuku.

Amdirlain restrained a whistle and sat down. “Did he contact him directly?”

“It was one of his generals if I understood the rank correctly,” clarified Ebusuku.

Amdirlain considered the pendant concealed within her chest. “Do the assassins have the option of declining a target?”

“When I was a member, they only operated in the City of Brass or other Efreeti major cities. Typically they’re assassinating the Efreeti who are vying for promotion slots; everyone is as much a sadist as any Dao: the kind that slowly roasts their prisoners for the amusement of onlookers before the remains get fed to something,” recounted Ebusuku. “Or, if they are aesthetically appealing, they end up in the Efreeti harems.”

“How does that explain the couriers?”

“Farhad said it's not a usual contract. It's normally when the two individuals want a third party to take the delivery risk, and it comes at a hefty premium,” explained Sarah. “Farhad is no longer a member, and you’d need to advance in their ranks to learn any details about the jobs. No oaths, merely a set of guild laws.”

“I never took any job besides kill missions,” explained Ebusuku when Amdirlain glanced at her for input.

“That’s surprising,” quipped Amdirlain.

Ebusuku shook her head and smirked. “Oaths, no matter how tightly worded, can have loopholes. The guild watches for those breaking the guild laws and breaks the offenders with years of torture when they're caught. There is a reward for the discovery of violators, paid after a Seer confirms the truth of the claims, so the assassins are self-policing.”

“Why is Farhad no longer a member?” enquired Amdirlain.

“Unless you are a guild administrator, to maintain your rank, you can’t allow two hundred years to pass since your last job. However, after five hundred inactive, regardless of rank, they strike you from the roster. It’s been over a thousand since Farhad last worked with them,” reported Sarah.

“I haven’t been back there since Farhad went to issue his challenge, so I’m also excluded,” clarified Ebusuku before Amdirlain could ask. "Not to mention two greater powers call the City of Brass home, so me going there is not a good idea."

“Okay, that makes sense,” admitted Amdirlain. “I doubt the Satyr will take more work from them. Will the trail to him grow cold while I progress through the guild?”

“Wolves are territorial and, to some extent, hierarchical. Torm was Vargr Drangijaz for over a thousand years. Do you think that mindset will have washed away completely?”

“I’ve encroached on his territory?”

Sarah huffed. “I got to kill his pawns, and you’ve blocked a path to Livia.”

“Ok, fine, I’ve got to think super possessive mode,” groaned Amdirlain.

“Potentially, we’ve got minimal evidence of his mindset, but it's an approach to try. Even if we don’t get him directly, we might find out who took the work and talk to them about him,” commented Sarah. “That might give us more clues about how to track him down.”

“How would we do that?” asked Amdirlain. “Are we going to just pull the information out of someone’s brain?”

“Too risky that we’ll spook the person who knows,” countered Sarah. “The Efreeti possess knowledge of psionics; hence my question about becoming a member. We need to get inside to earn access to their records and see if any new matching jobs come through them.”

“High enough guild members have access to the records of past jobs. Efreeti law requires them to be kept. That’s so if anyone challenges the legality of someone’s promotion, the guild records will prove if it got commissioned legally,” explained Ebusuku. She didn’t restrain her snort at Amdirlain’s look of disbelief.

Amdirlain closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead; the bizarreness of the Efreeti legal code taunted her after the plinth’s brutal judgement of her situation. “Okay, so you and Farhad believe he’ll try to use The Exchange or assassin’s guild again to prove I’ve not driven him off? Thus by getting into the guild and ranking up, I’ll be able to learn what jobs are on offer or find out who did the courier work. I might claim and meet him if new matching jobs come up.”

“Pretty much sums it up,” agreed Sarah.

“How did he learn about the assassin’s guild in the first place?” enquired Amdirlain.

“Farhad and Torm used to discuss various laws and attitudes towards justice after training. They argued over various laws and their lack of justice, including the Efreeti legal code for promotion using the assassin’s guild,” Sarah stated, reaching out to rub the back of Amdirlain’s neck. “It's a place to look that we didn’t have previously, and you get to practice some powers and skills.”

“It's also the only lead we have until Livia receives new gifts; otherwise, we’re back to hunting for a mote of dust between stars,” advised Ebusuku.

“Don’t risk ruining the lead, got it,” nodded Amdirlain.

“There are other meditation styles besides the Zen Meditation you’re used to; it might be good to explore one of those,” offered Sarah.

“Got any suggestions?”

“We’ll work on a few I learnt at uni,” offered Sarah.

Nicholaus’s PoV - Titan’s forge room

Nicholaus considered the tiny elven figure he held up between thumb and forefinger, and tension flexing muscles warned him that his anger stirred.

“I promised my daughter to consider a way for the Anar to reincarnate here, but I never promised all of them would do so. Still, it's ironic that you were among the first to arrive by the path I opened.”

Reaching out, he placed the golden figure upon the King’s square of a chessboard that his will formed from grey and black stone. “You designed this thing; it's only fair it comes back to you.”

With a quick motion, he emptied a plain wooden box, and an uprooted cutting of a writhing vine fell at the figure’s feet. After a moment of inactivity, a tendril reached out, and the vine slithered home when it touched the figure.

“Gideon, please assist Eleftherios in reproducing the energy the vines had feasted upon within Orhêthurin.”

Gideon floated closer to Eleftherios’s shoulder and shrunk smaller than the elven figure’s hand.

“Of course, father,” Eleftherios replied, and he raised his hand and stepped close. From his fingers, motes of a pale white light drifted, and where they touched the figure, green leaves enveloped the gold.

“Thank you for retrieving it from the Outlands,” commented Nicholaus. “Have you decided what you’ll do if Vehtë’s humans continue praying to you?”

“Not yet, father, but their natural faith supports the minor blessings they’ve gained. It is, however, accelerating; Sage has spread my name elsewhere, hoping I’ll counter Orcus’ advancements.”

“Would you sponsor a clergy for that purpose?”

“The existence of undead mocks the natural cycle and disturbs the balance. Death should bring quiet and reflection, not signal the transformation into a predator,” mused Eleftherios. “Then there is the matter of the Hag and her new Domain in the ruins of Hades’ castle. The sea hags have already spread her worship to the other worlds where she already had worshippers.”

“She tried to bind my daughter forever in that shell,” stated Nicholaus, gently picking up the chessboard.

Gideon lapped the chess board and skipped across spots before the former Anar King. “Revenge didn’t factor into why Amdirlain shared our names; she sought to provide mortals additional choices to remain free of the Hag's grip.”

“Also, wherever Ruithor is, prayers might tip the balance to return to himself. Certainly, they allowed Laodice a conduit to regain her strength while cut off from the realm in the Leviathan’s death curse,” noted Eleftherios. “The demonic death toll is considerable.”

“How is Laodice’s progress returning home?”

“At present count, twelve hundred and seventy-nine fortresses have been destroyed. The other abyssal factions are staying clear of Laodice, picking apart minor Sisterhood holdings that she's not bothered with,” Gideon said. “This has been aided by information Naamah possesses about their locations. Balnérith will be another 164,160 minutes clearing the lowest planes if she continues along her usual route to the natural Gate to access Ijmti.”

"Is that all? I'd hoped Balnérith took the three days returning," grumbled Nicholaus.

"She wasn't yet to the Far Chaos breach point when she received the news," stated Gideon.

Eleftherios shook his head. "Could just say close to 2 days?"

"It was funny to see your excitement growing until I mentioned minutes," rebuffed Gideon. “Did you think she’d got caught in a time rift?”

“Couldn’t you adjust the plinth to save Amdirlain such pain?” asked Eleftherios, ignoring Gideon's giggles.

Huffing, Nicholaus tapped his workbench. “You should know better, Eleftherios. I ceded full rights of Redemption’s Path to Orhêthurin. Though they pointed out a gap in the rules, I was disinclined to let them have any way back.”

“I know, it's just-”

“Enough,” snapped Nicholaus. “Please leave it. Orhêthurin was my daughter long before you were lovers. Gideon is poking Amdirlain along the paths which might help her find Orhêthurin’s former strength. However, nothing is certain, and she is choosing a winding, dangerous path. That is all we can do according to the rules. Perhaps you should pick a world project to work on around the forge; it might keep you out of trouble until you’re properly settled.”

“Or leave?” whispered Eleftherios.

“You’d be missed, but that option is open to you after the fine line you walked.”

Giving Eleftherios a nod, Nicholaus carried the chessboard to a storeroom. Among its shelves were the experiments too dangerous to release, and Nicholaus secured the chessboard in an otherwise empty crate. “Don’t worry; the rest of your choir will join you in time. When I let you be reborn, we’ll see if you can get free of your creation.”

With those words, he patted the crate’s lid and walked away.

On the way back to his forge, he took in the rows of Lómë souls that Amdirlain and Erwarth had returned to his care and the few other Anar that had joined them. Flittering among them, various nature spirits kept those waiting company.

Among the lines of figures, there was a spot he’d left deliberately empty when the others arrived. Now he took a Queen’s piece crafted from the essence of Light and set it as a marker.