Phoebe was leant over the table, a crystal dangling from her hand, sending rainbows on to the walls of the attic, as she tried to scry for her sister. Again and again, she sent the gem spinning over the map, again and again failing to locate her, the stone just whirling round and round. Across the room, Piper had returned to the Book of Shadows where she had been turning page after page trying to find another reference to The Silence, or The Quiet, anything to help them. But they remained elusive and shadowy, there was no recognition of their existence anywhere.
As Leo orbed into the room, both sisters instantly looked up. One look at his face and the Halliwells knew that the information the Elders had been able to give about the mysterious inscription was not good. They were silent as the angel told everything he had been told.
The Quiet were a group of ageless beings, who had been made to protect The Silence at the very start of time, when the boundaries and forms of magic were being set out by great powers. The Silence; the precious entity they must protect, a moment in time that occurred once a month; never on the same day, never at the same time of day, or for the same length, so that no mortal or magical being could find it. For in those minutes the magic of the world, both good and evil, was released, and allowed to breath, to prevent its power boiling over and upsetting the universe's balance. Any being who experiences The Silence could tap into the magic; learn about the deeper and darker magic that runs underneath everything else, a magic even the Elders could not comprehend. Its protection was vital to all.
Leo continued.
Paige must have inadvertently disturbed The Silence that night, her instinct roused by the magic in the air, for that night had been the most important and powerful occurrence of The Silence in many years. And by the rules set down to govern The Quiet, she must join them to protect the secret. The Quiet floated through time and space, instinctively knowing when their charge was in danger. They never communicated with each other, they had no need. Instead each one of The Quiet controlled their own music, personal to them alone, heard by them alone, through which they could act to protect The Silence, as their music held their magic.
The girls sat still, numbed by what they had been told. Each one had been silently assessing the situation as Leo had talked and had realized the difficulties they faced. Even if they wished to try and become a one of The Quiet themselves to rescue Paige, The Silence could not be discovered, and would not occur again for a while; neither were willing to abandon Paige for that length of time. And Leo also warned that Paige would have no memory of her life before becoming one of The Quiet, the power of the magic they held would banish any recollection. It seemed a helpless situation, as The Quiet had warned; It is not for you to seek us, Beware – you will fail.