Flora came back to the estate smelling like smoke and fire, bits of soot stuck to her fur, but a wide smile on her face, her tail flicking back and forth happily. Zen raised an eyebrow as she walked in the door. "You did come back tonight! What were you up to today?"

"Oh! I didn't think you were still up." Flora jumped slightly as he spoke, but quickly settled down. "I finally found someone who could help me out with a project. After that, I spent the day talking with folks around town, seeing what has been happening. Life's finally starting to feel normal again."

"Really? And that kept you all day?"

"I mean, she was also with me." Madelyn said, walking in the door behind Flora. "I wanted to show her the new forge in town since she was curious."

"They were super cool! Ptolmek, the fox who's helping me, is super smart. He's an inventor, and made machines to make things faster!" Flora bounced on her feet, clearly excited by whatever she had seen. Zen simply chuckled and shook his head.

"Well, sounds like you had a good day. Where's Haelith?"

"She's spending the night with the doctor." Maddie said as she walked past. "I came with Flora to make sure she got home safe, and also to grab a few things Haelith will need tomorrow. She's fine, but the doctor wanted to keep her for extra observation, since he's never worked with Ishtaer biology before."

"I see. Well, then I won't keep you. Flora, care for a cup of coffee? Still hot."

"No thanks, I shouldn't have any more tonight." She rubbed the back of her neck, walking toward the stairs. "I actually should get some sleep. It is rather late."

"Alright then. Sleep well." With that, Zen was alone in the main hall again. He considered going to sleep, but he was holding a cup of coffee. Rather than waste it, he shrugged and walked up the stairs to the library, where he figured he would find a new book to read. After wandering for a few minutes, he settled on a small book he had never seen before, but it didn't look too challenging. Content with his choice, he wandered to the back of the library, where there was a nook in a bay window, with several large cushions and a table; the perfect place for some quiet reading.

He was not the only one who thought that either. "I didn't think you were still up."

Raine glanced over from the window, and smiled. "I couldn't sleep."

"A lot on your mind? Or do you just miss Richard?"

She was quiet as she shifted to the side to let him sit down. "A bit of both. Life has just been hectic, and we both finally had a chance to get some things off our chest, only to have to do important things in different places."

"I know what he's doing, but what are you doing?" Zen set his coffee down, and leaned back on his favorite spot, where he could look up and see the stars.

"Research." She didn't seem to want to give a better answer, opting to look out the window instead.

"Research about what? Sentinels?" Raine was silent, clearly not wanting to talk about it. "Hey. You can talk to me. I promise, no one else will hear it."

"Thandolin. Does than name mean anything to you?" Zen blinked a few times.

"Thandolin… Thandolin… yes! Yeah! Sythe mentioned him a few weeks ago! It had something to do with Nemurnal, but that was all he knew. Why?"

Raine sighed as she turned to face him, pushing the small pile of books out of the way. "Because I think he's alive still. I don't have any evidence, but I think he's alive. The Sentinels don't act on their own, they have structure. They have to take commands from someone or something. Most are only following orders, but I found one book that said there are a few kinds of Sentinels, like a caste or military. Higher ups that have the ability to function semi-autonomously, able to act on their own, both take and receive orders. They all have to take orders from something. From what we know, Thandolin was the last one to have them in his command when he leveled Nemurnal. Therefore, we can infer that he must still be alive, giving orders somehow."

Zen rubbed his temples and tried to follow what she was saying. "There's no way for this Thandolin to be alive. Even if he was an Ishtaer, they only live to be a hundred and fifty at most. He would have to be at least five hundred years old at this point! He can't be alive."

"But what if he is? What if he found a way to extend his life?"

"Extend his life? How? Why? That doesn't make any sense. If this Thandolin could extend his life, then he would be the single most powerful wizard in the world, and could reshape all of reality, bending the laws of nature to his will! And could you even imagine how much power that would take? Just to extend life would take more power than even what a dragon is capable of, probably more than all the dragons in the world could manage!"

"I know!" Raine shouted, suddenly becoming very emotional. "I know that it's not possible, I know that it can't be done!" She let her head hang, as tears welled in her eyes. "I'm just scared. I know what he did. I know how powerful Thandolin was, how much power he had. I saw it. Aruhn showed me-" Raine's eyes went wide as she cut herself off.

"Aruhn? Who's Aruhn?" She bit her lip and her eyes darted around. "Look, we all have things to hide, but it's better for things to not be. Right now, we can have no secrets, especially if it's something that could really matter." Zen was stern, like he was talking to a younger sister. "If you know something important, you should tell me. One way or another, it will come to light, whether you want it to or not. You and I both know that secrets don't stay hidden. Not even the grave can keep a secret forever."

He could tell she was hesitating, but there was a heavy sigh, and she reached behind her, where she had an old leather journal. "I suppose you're right. Just… promise that this will stay between us for now? I'm not ready for everyone to know yet."

"I kept Natani's secret for years. I can keep yours." Zen reached over and gently put a hand on her knee. He could tell from the way she was sitting that she was very stressed about this, but at least she was willing to talk. He knew how to get information out of people, and while this wasn't the usual method he used, it was still effective. "I promise: this will stay between us."

"Then… I should start from the beginning. Last fall, when we went out separate ways, I had a vision. It was like a dream, but it was far more clear, far more real than just a dream. I saw thousands of branching paths weaving around me, and spoke to an old man who called himself Aruhn. I didn't think too much about it, but it shook me, especially since a lot of things he said about me were said to me in the weeks following. I tried to put it out of my mind, but on the way back from Valinos, I had another vision. Aruhn was there again, and he practically laughed at me. He said that I was strong, stronger than almost anyone he had ever seen, that I could do great and terrible things, and yet I chose to remain ignorant. I didn't want to believe him.
And then there was nothing. For a while I had pushed him from my mind, tried to set myself to focus on the things in front of me. The attack in Edinmire had made me forget about him, and meeting Barret pushed him even further away. Then, I left with him and Haelith, and went north, to the tundra. And then I saw him again. It wasn't in a void filled with paths, but in a small room, where he talked to me. He tried to explain things to me, tried to explain why he would only watch but not act. Aruhn was afraid, because the last time he saw someone this strong, it ended up bringing the destruction of Nemurnal."

Zen choked on his coffee. "Wait, what?! Aruhn did that?!"

"No! No! It was Thandolin! Aruhn said that the last time he interfered with Fate, it cost tens of thousands of lives, and by acting blindly, he helped to bring about the destruction of the city. Aruhn tried to help Thandolin stay alive, since he was sick. He tried to find a cure, but couldn't, and ended up turning to dark magic as a temporary solution, at Aruhn's suggestion. But then Thandolin went too far, and turned against Aruhn, forcing him to flee for his life. When he returned a few days later, the city was obliterated. He told me all of this because he was scared that, by just speaking to me, he was going down the same dark path again. He was afraid that I would end up causing untold death."

"But he doesn't know that it was Thandolin." Zen said, lowering the journal. He had been flipping through it as she spoke, and had read while listening. "He never explicitly says that it was Thandolin who destroyed Nemurnal."

"It was Thandolin. He showed me. Aruhn is old and very, very, very powerful. He has a strange ability that he showed me. He can see the past and the future of the Weave of Fate, he's able to see what is to come and what has come before. While our choices are our own, they become part of the Weave, and once there become immutable and impossible to remove. But I am special. I have the power to act outside of the Weave of Fate. And so does Thandolin. My power is wild and uncontrolled, but he would be able to change things. He already caused unfathomable death, lurking in the shadows, beyond Aruhn's vision. He exists like I do: outside Fate."

"Okay, then what does this have to do with Thandolin being alive?"

"The night after the battle, when I came back up here, Aruhn showed me the Weave of Fate. He showed me what it looked like to destroy the Weave, when Thandolin obliterated Nemurnal. And then he showed me what had happened earlier that day. Sentinels showed up, and a lot of lives were cut short, before they could join the Weave. It was not my doing. There is something else at work in this world, someone else who is beyond the reach of Fate that is making changes, forcing things to happen. There is only one other person that could be. It is not me. It must be Thandolin."

"And that's why you're trying to study him. You want to find out what he might be doing." Zen finally caught on. "And if you find out what he's doing, we would be far better equipped to try and stop it. I get it now."

"Good. I thought I was sounding crazy for a bit there."

"You were." Raine rolled her eyes, but Zen continued "So if Thandolin is alive, he might be controlling the Sentinels? What are they doing then? Why would he be sending out Sentinels to do anything?"

"I'm not sure. That's why I'm trying so hard to figure things out. What are they doing? Why is it they seem to always be where things are happening? You were ambushed during the wedding, I was ambushed in the wilderness. It seems far too random to be random."

Zen was silent. He couldn't deny that it seemed strange. Ever since their first encounter on the road from Uian, Sentinels seemed to show up more and more, like the mountain was waking back up. "I don't think I have an answer, but I just remembered something else: when we fought one on the road from Uian, that one seemed determined to reach Flora. Then, during the wedding, it seemed like they were again targeting mostly Keidrans, but especially Flora. Could it be that Thandolin just has a vendetta against us?"

"I doubt it. If anything, I would suspect that he would want to keep Keidrans alive. When he was practicing dark magic, he was siphoning life force from Keidrans, as they were 'lesser beings' to him. But that is interesting. I might have to take that into consideration with my searches." With that, they fell into silence. There was so much they didn't know, and for every answer they found, another question arose. A thousand mysteries lay hidden in the pages of the library, and somewhere there may be answers. Then again, perhaps there was truly nothing on the matter, perhaps they would be in the dark until the last possible moment. Without a word, they both looked out the window, where the ground beneath them was still scratched and marred from months ago, remnants of a fight they would just as soon forget. Finally, Raine broke the silence. "How's Haelith? I heard she was sick."

"I hope she'll be okay. She's spending the night in Edinmire with the doctor. I didn't even know that Ishtaer could get sick."

"Sickness is just a part of life, just like death. It happens to everyone. She's strong. Just give it a few days, and she'll be back on her feet."

"I hope so." Zen set down the mug on the table, a hollow thud echoing from within. "Well, my coffee is gone and it is late. I should get some sleep. You should too. Best not to worry any more than you need. And I promise, I won't say anything to anyone else yet."