Advance Update: 6/3/20 (Patreon)

Here's the advance update, though it's a little messy and is missing some formatting and bios - I'll clean it up tomorrow, along with a second editing pass to remove awkward phrasing, mistakes, etc.

I'm having a tough time at the moment escaping using this as a way to sort of "beta" chapters since I don't have a dedicated proofreader, and inevitably end up reading over it and wanting to make changes because I publish it live later. This still feels disrespectful to me, but I'm not sure quite how to quit.

----

I gulped, and stepped over to the platforms. 

"I'd set my luggage down, too, but as you can see, I came prepared," Kamrusepa said, gesturing to her own platform as she stepped up towards where Lilith, Mehit, and the servant were standing.

"How do those things work, anyway?" Ptolema asked, doing the same. She didn't seem interested in relinquishing her single item of baggage, keeping it slung over her shoulder.

"Oh, Lilith would be able to give a much better explanation than me, I'm sure."

"No," the girl said simply. Mehit, who had just finished putting her trunk up on the platform, looked down at her with a frown.

Kamrusepa chuckled, shaking her head a little, then turned back to Ptolema. "It's just a simple logic engine to give it a sense of where the ground is, and an incantation to make it follow and move, Ptolema."

"Ohh, so it's an artifice." She scratched the side of her neck. "That's kinda a let-down."

To explain: an 'artifice' referred to any device, or more broadly any human creation, that required the Power in order to function properly. Though this afforded tremendous advantages in creating pretty much anything, it was a limit in that arcana couldn't be simply enabled or disabled - they'd use up the energy they had at their disposal, then fail and stop working and need to be recast. Even runes that contained complete incantations still needed a human being to recite the words of initiation and punctuation to work.

This meant that anything dependent on the Power required an arcanist to renew its functionality on an intermittent basis. While this was fine for specialist equipment and things that were utilized frequently by the public, it meant you rarely saw personal objects with any arcane element.

A qualifier to this explanation is that it didn't mean that the Power wasn't _involved_ in the construction of most things - quite the opposite. Fortified bronze, steelwood, the echoglass used in logic engines - all of them were manufactured using it, in the latters case with wholly artificial elements only it could produce.

Kamrusepa snorted. "Sadly, we're still quite a ways off from a little thing like this being able to float on its own power. How would that even work? Gas? Pressurized air...? I suppose it could theoretically exert the force electromagnetically, but it's hard to imagine how such a thing could be achieved, without iron."

"Heh, it's unlike you to be cynical about technology, Kam," Seth said.

"I'm not being _cynical._ I said it would be difficult, not impossible," she said objectionably. "Why, do you have some kind of suggestion of how it could be done?"

"You could try to imitate it biologically," he said. "Y'know, maybe like a hummingbird--"

"Oh, don't be silly," Kam said, shaking her head before he was even finished. "It would be too noisy. Cacophonous, even."

While the two of them talked, I hauled my luggage up on to one of the platforms, assisted by Bardiya, for whom I offered a muttered words of thanks. He turned to help Ran in turn, but she waved him off. She didn't like handing over things to other people, even for trivial things like this. Ophelia, meanwhile, was stacking hers up herself, with the exception of the cage - I'm just going to call it a cage at this point, I'm sure you're tired of me mincing words - which she kept on hand.

"Hey, Ophelia," Seth called out to her. "What's in the bag?"

Ophelia seemed surprised by the question for a moment, then smiled meekly. "Ah, that's a secret, I'm afraid."

"For your presentation...?"

She nodded.

He glanced at for a moment, then smirked knowingly, nodding in turn. He pointed to one of his eyes, than to her own. "Loud and clear," he said. "Best of luck."

_Fucking biomancers,_ I thought to myself.

"You're all ready to go, then?" the servant asked, her tone impassive.

"Uh, looks like it, I said," glancing around, to see everyone elses progress. Then I actually turned to get a good look at the woman for the first time, I was a little shocked.

She was a tall woman, and dressed in a well-kept but pretty standard grey, laced dress that you'd normally see on a servant (well, to the point that 'what you'd normally see on a servant' wasn't a contradiction in terms, considering even the people spectacularly privileged enough to have one in the modern era usually used golems instead). She was obviously from the Duumvirate, with soft facial features and a dark, red-tinted complexion. Her hair was black and wavy, with what looked like blue highlights.

And she was outrageously, _offensively_ good looking. She had one of the most perfectly-proportioned but still unique faces I'd ever seen in my entire life. High cheekbones, a jaw that was just a little wide in a fashion that conveyed maturity without being masculine, soft, focused bright green eyes. Lips that started off thin in the corners but were lush in the center, perfect eyebrows...

And that's to say nothing of her limbs, which were all long and effortlessly graceful in their movements, branches in a soft wind, like she was some kind of fucking _dryad_. 

It was obscene. I considered myself to be a reasonably good looking person-- My family had been well-off enough for me to have had good distinction treatment, and people would compliment me or say I was pretty; sometimes, by virtue of the sheer statistic, they were probably even being sincere. But looking at her, I felt like some sort of paleolithic throwback, a misshapen ape-creature that had just emerged from a primeval swamp.

I'd assigned this lady the label "servant" when I'd seen her in my peripheral vision based on where she was standing and the rough colour of her clothes, but could a person like this possibly be a servant? Someone who was here to run around doing errands for us? The notion felt incorrect, even though I was annoyed that it felt incorrect.

_Oh, gods._ I suddenly realized she'd made eye contact with me while I was gawking at her, and now had her eyebrows raised raised in a expectant look. _Quickly, say something, or else or she's going to think you're some kind of pervert!_ I opened my mouth to speak, but the part of my consciousness that was supposed to generate some kind of generic question to fill the conversational void couldn't keep up, and...

"Ubluu- Uuuuaaghh," I said to her, my tongue lulling at the base of my mouth.

She stared at me for a moment with a surprised, puzzled expression, then suddenly broke into laughter, a grotesquely pretty look of amusement lighting up her face. "You, uh, wanna try that again, kiddo?"

"U-Um," I glanced to the side, clearing my throat. "S-Sorry. I meant to say, uh. Who are you, exactly? 

"Oh, right!" Seth suddenly chimed. "We didn't introduce you, did we?"

"Eh, it's okay," she said to him, with a casual shrug. "I only met you guys a few minutes ago anyway. I can introduce myself." She looked back at my direction. "I'm Sacnicte."

"Heh, it's gonna be tough to get the pronunciation for that right," Seth said.

"Don't worry," she replied. "I'll probably fuck up all of your names for the whole weekend."

Sacnicte. That's a Lluatan name,_ I observed to myself. _She's probably from the lower Duumvirate. That would make sense, if this sanctuary is connected to the Empyrean Bastion._

The Lluatec were one of the two Parties that had abstained from settling the Mimikros in the aftermath of the Covenant Schism (or at least that was the Grand Alliance's side of the story; in the Duumvirate, it went that they were effectively _forbidden_ from settling) and instead made their homes in the smaller, more experimental habitats created by the Ironworkers in the adjacent and uppermost planes of the Tower of Asphodel. Though by the modern era, they made their own, too. Of the two, the Lluatec - who by today were divided into six nations of varying influence and power - were regarded as the more xenophilic of the two, and had traded with the polities of the Mimikros since the 8th century.

Even so, they were nonetheless a rare sight on the surface, even in Ysara, which had the largest migrant population. I only a knew a handful at the academy.

"Uh, so," I went on. "Are you a servant of the order? What exactly is your role here?"

"Servant is kiiiinda right," she said, glancing upward thoughtfully. God, everything she did somehow looked _amazing._ I doubted you could take a bad photograph if you tried. "I'm sort of a steward, I guess? A few of us mind this place when no one is around, make sure everything keeps running and no one tries to sneak in and steal anything."

"Mm, I've heard of roles like that before," Kamrusepa said. "Arcanist conclaves will sometimes give them to apprentices to try and test their trustworthiness before bringing them deeper into the organization." She made a thoughtful expression. "Well, and to extract some free labour. You know how these affairs go..."

"I'm not an apprentice or anything like that,"  Sacnicte said. "I'm not even part of the order, really. This is just contract work." She crossed her arms idly. "But I am supposed to run errands, along with everything else? Keep things clean when the golems go wrong, help guests out? And I wear this thing, so I guess I am a servant." She seemed to find the notion amusing.

"Well, servant or not, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Kamrusepa said, beaming wildly.

"Likewise," she said. "So, shall we get moving?"

"Please," Mehit said. 

With that, our party, which was now at the level of size where people were breaking off into smaller groups and talking among themselves, began to make its way down the pathway towards the guesthouse. I ended up near the back, alongside Ran.One thing that I'd begun to notice about the garden was that, even though the air felt remarkably fresh, the lack of wind made the environment feel notably artificial after a little while. Not a _bad artificial, per se, but it added to the surreality of the environment.

It was like a stronger version of the phenomena I mentioned with the Great Lamp earlier; something in my brain knew that what I was seeing was, on some level, fake, even if superficially, it appeared normal. And that falseness kept striking me, over and over again.

I really couldn't understand why the order would bother maintaining something like it. Ptolema's initial observation had been on the nose - a well-decorated interior would have sufficed just as well.

And what was that, beyond the walls of glass? There were numerous pressing questions about our circumstances.

Of course, I raised the most important of them.

"Ran," I said, quietly.

"Mm?" She glanced up at me.

"That woman they're having escort us... Uh, the steward..."

Ran raised a hand to her face and begun rubbing her eyes with a discontent expression, seemingly having already anticipated what was coming next. "Su, I hope you're not about to get strange with me and go about how pretty you think she looks. I haven't drunk enough to have that one of those conversations with you right now."

"W-What? No!"I said, frowning and looking slightly embarrassed. "I was just going to ask if her role seemed strange to you. Someone who's supposed to be a steward, but who isn't part of the order, and for whom this is 'just a contract' - and from outside the Grand Alliance, too--"

"Uh huh," she said, her expression skeptical.

"Don't make this peculiar, Ran," I said firmly.

"You were sure glaring at her like that for a solid 30 seconds," she said. "And sounding like you were having a seizure when you opened your mouth."

_Fuck,_ I thought. _Was it really 30 whole seconds?_

Sometimes, I really wished Ran was a less observant. A _lot_ less observant, preferably. Between her and Kam, it was like I couldn't get away with a single faux pas.

I clicked my tongue. "I mean-- It's not like I'm _attracted_ to her," I said. "But, uh, she is kind of incredibly striking, you to have to admit. " I furrowed my brow. "I'm surprised no one else seems to be responding to it. Seth most of all. He's really... Casual."

Ran sighed. "Everyone's an adult here, Su. It shouldn't be a surprise to you that they have better self-control over their responses to people than the average 14 year old boy."

The implication being that I, evidently, didn't.

"So, you do think she's like that? That I'm not losing my mind?"

Ran stared at me for a few moments, then shrugged, turning to look in the direction of our destination. "She's pretty good-looking. Statuesque, maybe."

"But I mean _really_ good looking, rather," I said, dying on this hill in a spectacular fashion. "Not just in a mundane way, in a one-in-a-million way. The sort of person who ends up being world famous, like as a model, or a songstress, or in some epic poem..."

"No, I wouldn't say she's that amazing," she replied, in a tone so utterly flat that a nomadic steppe-culture could be established on it. "Can I veto the rest of this conversation?"

"Oh, come on--"

"What are you two girls whispering about?" Seth said in a lively tone, turning around to face us in response to Ran starting to speak of. "Nothing about me, I hope?"

"Su was just telling me how much she admires your sense of restraint," Ran said. 

I snapped my mouth shut tightly. This was not a topic I was comfortable continuing in the company of anyone else, let alone a guy. He'd absolutely get the wrong idea. I made a focused effort to put the subject out of my mind for the time being.

"Pffft, _that_ sounds unlikely," Ptolema, who was standing next to him, said.

"Heeey, c'mon, Ema," he said, with a playful expression. "You know me! I'm the most restrained guy you'd ever meet!"

"Yeah, right," she said, and rolled her eyes. "My _dog's_ probably more restrained than you, and my dad has to keep him locked in the house so he doesn't tear up all the roses."

"Sheesh, you won't even let me take compliments," he said with a smile, shaking his head. "My ego's gonna be in tatters by the time this weekend is over." 

"Ran was just kidding around," I said, hesitant. "Uh, not to say I don't think so, I mean. I do think you can be pretty restrained."

"Heh, I getcha." He stretched his arms up in the air casually, before leaning his hands behind his head. "Coming from a serious girl like you, that means a lot, Su."

Gods, we _really_ didn't know each other very well.

"I'm not sure what to say to that," I said.

He chuckled.

Seeing him from behind now, his clothes looked even more scuffed up. The back of his white short and blue longskirt were both stained with dirt, and his exposed elbows were grazed, too. 

"What happened to you, anyway?" I asked.

"Eh?" He looked behind at me, again.

"Your clothes are all messed up," I said, gesturing. "Was that from the argument Bardiya said happened? With Ezekiel?"

"Ohh. Nah, nah." He made a dismissive motion with his hand. "Not this time. I just slipped in the mud and got all dirty when I was rushing around in the rain. Should've learned a trick to stop it like you!"

"I'm always telling you to buy an umbrella," Ptolema said. 

"Weren't you soaking wet, when you tracked us down this morning?" Ran said. 

"Yeah, but I don't _care,_" she replied. "But he's always running around under overhangs and falling on his face. 'Cause he's got two left feet."

"Hey, it's not my fault Ysaran's build their roads so lumpy and narrow," he said. "And I don't wanna get an umbrella. Can't get too accustomed to the terrible weather in the bay, or I'll stop missing home."

Though this statement sounded absurd on the surface, somehow, it made sense to me. If you got too used to living in a foreign place, you could start to lose something, a bit. A subtle discomfort that pulls you back.

_Maybe hating everywhere else a bit is what it means to have a home,_ I thought to myself.

"I could never get used to the sun when I was living in Mekhi," I said. "It would tear right through me and make me feel like I was going to pass out. I had to carry a parasol just to get through the walks to the House of Resurrection." 

"Heh, I bet an aloof Saoic girl like you twirling a parasol around drew a lot of attention in Tem-Aphat," he said.

I blinked, taking a moment to process the words, the frowned and blushed, looking downward with embarassment.

"Uh, sorry," he said, seeming suddenly embarassed too. "Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, or anything like that."

"It's okay," I said, avoiding eye contact awkwardly.

"Quit being a creepo, Seth," Ptolema told him.

"Yeah, yeah."

Our brief walk up the path came to an end as we arrived at the doorway to the building. Close up, it seemed larger, and also quite a bit older. The stone was stained, with some vines and moss growing up the sides, and the wooden elements had the darkened, hardened character that you only saw with old structures. That combined with the angular, Second Ressurection period Rhunbardic architectural style gave it a stately, noble air. Like it belonged in a countryside villa more than... Well, whatever this place was.

A bronze sign attached to the side of the double doors at the entrance gave it a name "Abbey House" - written in Inotian rather than Ysaran, for some reason. Ophelia, who was still looking pretty worse for wear, looked at it carefully.

"Well now," Mehit said, actually sounding quite relaxed. "Doesn't this place look lovely. What a pleasant surprise."

"Funny," Bardiya said, also noticing what I had. "I don't believe I see a church..."

"Heh, maybe not yet,"  Sacnicte said. "C'mon, I'll show you inside."

"Ah, hold on just a moment," Kamrusepa said. "Bardiya, did you know where Theodoros and his father were headed? Were they going somewhere private?"

"No, I don't believe so," he said, with a shake of his head. "I believe there's a lounge just near the entrance. They were settling down in there."

"Oh, my," Kam said, her face lighting up a bit. "I better compose myself, then." She straightened her back, her demeanor shifting to the more professional, unambiguously adult one that hadn't come out entirely since this morning, and had been increasingly slipping from the brief spike it had seen upon Mehit's arrival - presumably because Kamrusepa did not feel she had great reason to show respect to her.

"Well, then," she continued, after a moment. There was a subtle anticipation in her tone. "Let's go!"

"You look like a kid who's about to open her birthday presents, Kam," Ptolema observed.

"Oh, do be quiet, Ptolema," she said, though in a friendlier way than usual.

Sacnicte opened the door, and led us into the modestly decorated exterior, which had a similar archaic but nonthreatening charm. True to Bardiya's word, the entrance fed right into a little lounge-esque enclave, with several plush chairs assembled around a tea table and a fireplace. On a side wall was an ornate-looking clock - of a design that allowed you to see the water-driven mechanism within - which reported the time as just short of half past five. 

And by that fireplace...

Was Theodoros - looking slightly anxious, as he almost always did, though a little better than this morning - and another much older man in a wooden wheelchair who greatly resembled him. He had the same softer-than-average Inotion features and thin lips, thick red hair - though of a lighter shade, closer to Kam's - and the beginnings of lines on his face. He was also a little overweight, with a heavy gut, and was dressed in in a casual-looking, bright red tunic and thick, sandy-coloured longskirt. The clothes of a much poorer man, or one who was simply apathetic. 

His eyes were bright brown, and  tired and with a certain meekness. But somewhere in that gaze, there was a sharpness to them that you rarely saw; of someone who had spent a very, very long time learning to look at things very, very carefully.

"Ah," he said, a warm smile crossing his lips. His voice was high for a man, but he spoke it low. "Good to see the rest of you all made it here safely." 

This was Linos of Melathos. Theodoros's father, and one of the six members of the inner circle of the Order of the Universal Panacea who had revealed their identities a decade and a half ago. But prior to that, I'd known him as the distant but kindly father of a close childhood friend.

But neither of these was what he was known for publically. Rather, most would recognize his face from academic journals, portraiture at universities, and newsheets - all on account of his status as the man who had all but literally written the book on the subject of organ synthesization using the Power. The visionary behind the _Melanthian Formula,_ the equation that allowed one to modify an incantation to produce a generic organ to one specialized specifically for the body of the patient.

I'd been expecting him to be the first one we'd meet.

"It is a very good to meet you, sir," Kamrusepa said, stepping forward into the lounge and holding out a hand. "On behalf of all my class - Theo excluded - let me say that it is a tremendous honor."

"Please, there's no need for any of that," he said, reorienting his chair slightly and taking it, giving her what looked like a soft but affectionate handshake "I'm the one honored to be meeting with you. You must be Kamrusepa, the class representative?"

"That's right, sir," she said.

He nodded, holding the smile. "Theo was just telling me about you."

"Oh?" She glanced to him for a moment, then adopted a slightly meeker, self-deprecating tone. "At least some of it good, I hope...?"

"More or less all of it so far," he said kindly. "When I asked if he expected your group would face any obstacles, he said that you were always very well-organized, so he didn't expect any problems."

"Oh!" Kam said, seeming genuinely pleasantly surprised. "Why, thank you, Theo. That's very kind of you to say."

"Uh, no problem," he said, looking slightly embarrassed. "T-Though, I didn't put it in those exact words..."

"Probably called her fussy or something," Ptolema said quietly, as the platforms with our luggage slowly filed in after Sacnicte. There were some snickers and general murmurs of assent. 

Personally, I would speculate he had probably called her something a little more severe, but that's neither here nor there.

"In any event," Linos said, "there's no need to stop and chat yet on my account. Go get settled in and the like; I'll be here all weekend." He looked over to the aforementioned 'statuesque' servant. " Sacnicte, could you show anyone who wants to their rooms?"

"No problem, sir," she said. Casually, she withdrew a cigarette from the inside of her cloak, and lit a match.

_Oh my god,_ I thought. _She smokes, too. She's so cool!_

_No, stop! We're putting this out of our mind, remember?_

"I want to change my clothes, mama," Lilith said, apruptly. 

"Yes, dear, of course," Mehit said. She turned towards the servant. "Excuse me, but may I ask if our rooms have their own lavatories?" 

"Mm? Oh, yeah, they do," she replied, with a nod. "Baths and showers, too. Nothing shared."

Seth whistled. "Woooh. That's a aretty sweet deal!" He called out to Linos. "Thanks a lot!"

"I didn't build this place, so I'm not sure I can take credit, but you're very welcome all the same," he replied, with a chuckle.

"C'mon, Seth," Ptolema said. "Let's get you outta here before you make a total ass of yourself."

And so, Seth, Ptolema, Mehit, Lilith, and Ophelia followed after  Sacnicte down the hall. Kamrusepa, however, was undeterred.

"You're very gracious, sir, but I'd love to speak to you now, if you'd be willing?" She said. "I have quite a lot to unpack, so once I get started. I expect I won't be truly done until after dinner. And, well-- I've just been so excited to speak to someone from your group. There's so many questions on my mind." 

Though Kam often played up her emotions for dramatic effect, this girlish enthusiasm actually seemed completely sincere. It was funny, seeing it from her, but also kind of endearing.

"Ahh, I'm not being presumptuous, am I?" she went on, almost a bit neurotically. "Are we going to be served dinner, or should we be seeing to ourselves?"

Linos seemed to find the attitude charming, too, his small smile widening a little, exposing the wrinkles on his face. "I wasn't going to say so until a little later, but yes, dinner will be served tonight. Though it'll be a little late since everyone is still coming in - probably about 8:30." He raised his voice a little for a moment to reach those departing. "Help yourself to any snacks if you're hungry, by the way! There's a pantry down the hall!" He turned back to her, with a slightly embarrassed look. "Not sure if they heard me."

Kamrusepa laughed a little bit, holding the side of her hand to her mouth, and Linos laughed along with her. He'd always been like this; fast friends will almost anyone, especially young people. I - Utsushikome - had all but loved him when I was a child and he was someone I knew as my friends father and my grandfathers friend. Practically saw him as an uncle, even.

Of course, things were a little more complicated now, in numerous ways. Talking to him was inevitably going to be awkward, but it was like an undetonated explosive. I was going to have to talk to him eventually. All I could was manage that reality as best as I could.

I'd stayed behind as the others left, along with Ran. Since this seemed like as good a moment as any, I stepped forward towards him.

As soon as he noticed my specific approach, Linos's expression changed subtly. His smile became a little more distant, and something in his eyes a bit softer. 

"Ah, Utsushikome," he said, his tone gentle. "It's good to see you again." 

"Thank you, s... Sir," I said. "It's good to see you too."

The word 'sir' had felt wrong coming off my tongue. It wasn't something I'd ever called him when I was a child. But somehow, in this context, adressing him by his first name felt equally peculiar. Especially with the measure of the time that had passed.

He didn't seem to mind either way, though. He looked me up and down. "Good heavens, I'd forgotten how tall you'd gotten. What did you end up at...?"

"Uh, five seven," I said. "Though, closer to five eight."

I noticed that everyone else seemed to have fallen silent. In fact, the room had become very quiet, generally, all of sudden. After the unending hustle and bustle of the past few hours, it felt strange.

"My goodness." He crossed his arms, shaking his head, "Well, it always ran in your family, I suppose. Your grandfather used to joke that he'd have have an easier time talking to me if he wasn't always staring at the top of my head. Though that was back when I could walk, so it's not _quite as mean as it probably sounds."

I wasn't sure quite what response he wanted from me. I tried to smile, in absence of a proper response, pushing one of my braids away from my face. 

"He could be a little abrasive, true," he went on, his eyes now turning a little downward. "But no one could accuse him of not having a sense of humor. And he was good to his friends, when it mattered the most." He nodded to himself, then looked back up to face me. "The two of you really do look alike, you know."

"So I've been told," I said.

"If you were a man, I bet it would be almost uncanny." He exhaled. "How long has it been since I last saw you, Utsushikome?"

_2419 days,_ my mind provided. _And it was afternoon, at four, on that last visit. Me at the dining table, eating biscuits, struggling to know what to say to Theodoros._

"Uh, nearly seven years, I think," I said. "When I left for Tem-Aphat.

"Seven years..." He sighed. "The time really does get away from you, hm?"

_Doesn't it just, though? You can still taste the sugar, if you focus hard enough. Whole worlds built up in your mind, whole different 'yous', slipping away like drops of water. Down through the hole in the bottom of the bowl. Drip, drip..._

"It, uh, certainly does," I said.

"I never would have imagined I'd be seeing you here back, back in those days," he said. "Uh-- Not to speak low of your talents, of course! Just that, well. Back then, it was still a bit of an open question how much we'd be opening ourselves up to the outside world. Still taking our first baby steps."

"You seldom talked your work, back then," Theo said. "Even to me."

"Indeed," Linos said. "I wish I'd been more open to you both, when you were still children. And to your mother, too." A regretful expression crossed his eyes for a moment, but then they flicked back towards me, once again full of kindness. "It's a bit of a cliche, I know, and I know you hardly knew each other. But I'm sure he would have been proud of you, all the same."

"Thank you," I said. The words came out a little stiff.

"Um," Kamrusepa interjected, warily. "I know I said I was excited, but I can wait until later to ask questions, if you'd prefer to catch up on your own..."

"Oh, no! No, forgive me," he said, suddenly looking a little embarrassed. "I'm just getting a little too sentimental. Product of old age, you understand." 

"Ahah. Perhaps you ought to be looking for a cure here, then?" Kamrusepa joked, though it came out more insecure than her jokes normal did.

Linos broke into a chuckle anyway. "Not sure we'll ever crack that one, I'm afraid. Though you never know-- Zeno might have some ideas."

This was in reference to Zeno of Apocyrion, one of the most senior members of the conclave; the founder of neuromancy, who I mentioned a while ago. Of all the inner circle, he was probably the most renowned. It was a little surreal to think he was probably already somewhere in the structure, and to hear him referenced so casually...

"I also have a nasty habit of forgetting the other people around me when I'm talking to someone. Speaking of which--" He turned and regarded Ran, pointing his finger. "You're... Ran of Hoa-Trinh, right?"

"That's right, sir," she said, her tone formal.

"You're a friend of Utsushikome's, right? I think I met you once when the two of you were younger. Hell of a thing that you both ended up in the exemplary acolyte's class."

"Yes, sir."

I glanced in her direction for a moment. Those might have been the words that came out of her mouth, but the ones that came out of her eyes were _luck had nothing to do with it._

"Well, it's good to meet you properly. Any friend of Utsushikome and Theodoros is a friend of mine, as well." He gave her a respectful nod, then looked back to Kam. "Now, then. As I'd meant to say, I don't mind fielding a few questions."

"Wonderful!" She said, her eyes lighting up.

"Though," he said mirthfully, "As a warning, you might be surprised at clueless I'm capable of being. Frankly, I probably know less than half of what I ought to, being up in the ranks of this place."

She laughed a little bit, then put a put a finger to her mouth. "Well, I'll start with something simple. It feels a bit silly to ask, really, but to begin with... I've been wondering where we _are,_ exactly? Where this place is?"

He looked surprised, raising his eyebrows. "You didn't notice when you came in? Outside of the glass?"

"I'm afraid not," she said. "I couldn't make much out other than... Maybe some vague shapes? Like fog?"

He blinked, then broke into a small chuckle. "Is that right? Well, I suppose now that of I'm thinking about it, I can believe someone without context might not know what they're looking at. Or maybe _where_ they're looking at is more appropriate?"

She looked confused, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I follow."

"I would've thought the mural might've given a hint. What you're seeing isn't fog, it's water," he said. "We're at the bottom of the sea."