"The reasons why I sought you out…" Isabella trailed off, biting her lip. "There's a multitude, but the most prominent is learning about the Eagaliteh. We have reason to believe that those two are greatly interfering in our kingdom."

Teacher looked back at her without betraying any thought. "That is their business." As Isabella stared at her blankly, Teacher continued, "To become an Eagaliteth is not as joining an institution. It is a state of being that can be achieved which leaves an indelible mark in the world of magic that others who have achieved similar heights can connect and interact with."

"It isn't some sort of syndicate or coalition?"

"The one who taught me called it a glorified postal network," Teacher said with a smile. "We can see each other poking our head above the clouds. Some have attempted to turn it into something more organized, more official. Ultimately, it has the cohesion that each individual spellcaster permits it to have."

Isabella lost herself in thought for a moment. "What significance does it hold for you?"

"I use it as a marketplace. I put out messages offering to sell my abilities or my abundances in exchange for that which I lack," she explained. "Others have taken to using it as a means by which to establish institutions—and there, I suspect, lies your confusion."

Isabella felt enlightened. Just as much, she felt disappointed. But as she considered what had been said, she realized that not all was lost.

"Why isn't this common knowledge? Why are you telling me this?"

Teacher leaned in. "By the time that one reaches this level, they have abandoned much. Typically, there's no appetite to disclose the existence of the Eagaliteh. It is impossible to describe fully for those who haven't experienced it. Indeed, many are aggressively isolationist, and seek to hide its existence. It warps and twists your mind beyond repair. I myself settled in the frigid north of this continent for a reason." She leaned back in her chair. "As for why you… you possess something that would be the envy of all Eagaliteh members. Something shared with your father."

"My… abilities," Isabella guessed, not being specific in case this person was ignorant of that.

"Yes. Your time-related abilities," she confirmed, and Isabella straightened her back. "We can't make use of it as you do. Even if it were stripped from your body, none of us could travel through time. If we tried… well, your friend is experiencing that. The one whose defenses I breached."

"Arthur? Can you help him?" Isabella asked urgently.

"No one I know can," Teacher said, and Isabella's heart sunk. "Well… perhaps you. You would need to return through time… but I'm sure you knew that." She stared unblinkingly for a moment, then looked to the fire. "Regardless… though we can't make use of your ability itself, we can extract it, and use it as a catalyst for major rituals. Unfortunately, it can't be extracted by force, elsewise I suspect whoever's learned of your abilities would've involved themselves personally. A deal must be struck between two parties… otherwise that which granted you the power will be angry."

Teacher shook her head. "Before you ask, no. No one knows the source of your power. Enough members of the Eagaliteh have been harshly dealt with, both by the power-holders and power-granters, that most elect not to touch it. Though… of late, your kind are fewer and fewer. If I'm to guess, you and Edgar are the only left alive."

"The two that are interfering call themselves the sages," Isabella said, hoping that information would help.

"Those people?" Teacher scoffed. "That clarifies a great deal. How much do you know of them?"

"My… acquaintance claims she thought they were attempting to build a utopian society of some kind." Isabella shook her head. "Beyond that, nothing."

"The dream of the sages…" Teacher closed her eyes, thinking about her response carefully. "They believe that society has gone astray. They believe that no form of society as it exists has been adequately constructed to address the needs of men and women. Even worse, the baggage of tradition, culture, and knowledge prevent them from ever heading in the right direction.

"The goal that they're attempting to realize by extracting your time ability is likely 'purity before thought,' as they call it." Teacher rose to her feet, then poked at the fireplace with a poker. "It would involve the total erasure of memory, knowledge, culture, tradition, expertise, language—really, just everything—from every living being on the continent."

"What?" Isabella said in disbelief.

"They wish to be the sages that descend from on high and educate the people from a blank slate in how society should function and be constructed," Teacher explained, then sat back down. "To rebuild it from the ground up, without the follies of bygone generations. If they were in possession of a catalyst such as yours, I suspect that goal would be their primary aim. To rebuild, however, you have to first tear down."

"But… erase all memories?" Isabella reiterated, and Teacher nodded. "Of things like… agriculture, hunting, and…?"

"Yes," Teacher confirmed. "They're merely highly idealistic. The reason why they expend so much effort to gain influence is to lay the groundwork for this shift. They wish to create a truly equal society, and the only way to do so would be to erase the unequal society that exists. The erasure of memories would be their great neutralizer, bringing all back down to the beginning so that the people cannot veer away from the right path once more." She shrugged. "I think it's all quite ridiculous, but I also thought the Recursive Sigil of Nonlocality was ridiculous, and someone managed to do that…"

Isabella thought about it personally. She knew of a great number of famines that had occurred because of harvest that yielded slightly less than normal. The thought of everyone in the continent simultaneously forgetting centuries, even millennia of tradition…

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"It sounds like it'd be a disaster," Isabella said.

"I tend to agree," Teacher said with a nod. "They argue that the natural human condition before rudimentary knowledge and instincts polluted man is accommodating, cooperative, and communal. They claim that their teachings would be accepted immediately, and they could establish their institutions within the year." She shook her head. "It's like claiming you're to cause an earthquake that sunders the earth without killing anyone. I think it's impossible. They claim to have done it before with a small, isolated village, but I've read plenty of critiques as to their methods."

Isabella thought that Teacher's explanation made a great deal fall into focus. For instance, why the changes had been so focused on ensuring that they had influence in the government. Why they didn't just take what they wanted by force, considering the hidden leverage they had over Edgar. They would likely attempt to persuade him to surrender his power once he'd been comatose for a long while, and they'd laid the groundwork for their transition. Still, Isabella felt something was off.

"You're being so generous with your information, I suspect, because you've a request to make of me," Isabella said.

"You lack a way to counter the sages," Teacher said. "I'm not entirely sure what you have planned, but whatever it is, you won't be able to do it so long as they have their eyes on the situation. That dying boy, Arthur, is skilled… but he's not yet reached the level of the Eagaliteh. Perhaps, in time, he might've."

"And you can counteract them?" Isabella guessed.

"Heavens, no," Teacher said with amusement. "I'm outnumbered."

Isabella was confused. What was all of this leading toward?

"I would like your ability," Teacher confirmed. "But even more than that… I would like you to become my daughter," she said with a smile.

Isabella's heart skipped a beat. "Excuse me?"

"Perhaps that was abrupt…" Teacher shook her head. "I cannot aid you in defeating the sages. They're far more than I can handle. But I've noticed that you have an exceptionally sound mana vessel—indeed, I would go so far as to call it perfect. I have met no one more fitting to absorb my teachings than you." Teacher waved her hand around. "The place that you see around me wasn't actually built by me. It was built by my teacher—my mother. She took me in when I was younger than you are, but with your ability, your age won't be an issue."

"Why not?"

"If I extract it from you, I can use it to create a zone of suspended time. It's been a dream of mine for a very long time to freeze something completely," Teacher said, holding up her hand. Ice crystals formed on it. "Not merely suspended in ice, but suspended so absolutely that nothing again can ever change it, or be changed by it. To stop an area's time—that is my wish. And in it, I could impart a millennium of knowledge to you in mere moments. With that, I've no doubt you could be the sages' equal."

"You would just be my teacher, then," Isabella said. "Why call me daughter?"

Teacher smiled. "It's simply tradition. From the beginning, however, I can't deny feeling some affection toward you."

Isabella studied Teacher. She had been very kind, very amiable… and indeed, this place was far warmer than it looked. She had always wanted a mother, and perhaps the word had touched upon something within. A sore point. The idea appealed, she couldn't deny. An eternity carved from a moment, within which she could indulge in magic under the tutelage of someone like this. And yet…

"May I think about it?" Isabella asked.

"Of course." Teacher nodded. "If you wish to see me again, that scroll still has plenty of time remaining." She waved. "Farewell."

***

Isabella blinked open her eyes serenely, as if emerging from a peaceful sleep. Arthur and the rest of the others gathered around her exhaled a sigh of relief when her eyes opened.

"You're back," Arthur said. "The grip of magic over you… it was enough to make me shudder. Whoever sent that, they were strong beyond measure."

Isabella said nothing for a few moments. That conversation… she analyzed it in her head, again and again.

"Allison. Abigail." She lifted her head and looked toward the twin sisters. "You mentioned that an artifact that glowed before you were born was glowing again."

"Uhh… yes," Allison confirmed, shifting on her feet. "Why?"

"May I see it?" she asked, holding the scroll in her hands tightly.

***

Isabella studied the artifact that the twin sisters had led her to. It was a shield on the wall bearing the crest of House Balat—namely, a white crescent moon with two stars right above it. Both the moon and the stars were glowing, pulsing in a steady rhythm.

"Why exactly did you want to see this?" Allison asked curiously.

Isabella didn't reply immediately. Frankly, she was a little nervous about doing this. Part of her didn't want it to be true. But another part of her—the part of her that had wandered through the royal court for many years, barely surviving—knew what was about to happen.

Isabella stepped forward and placed the scroll against the shield.

"No more tricks."

Immediately, it began to glow and pulse faster, and Isabella's heart shrank. Then, one of the stars on the shield shifted, and an eye appeared there as if rolling back into place. The crescent moon split into teeth, and another eye appeared in the place of the other star.

"Clever girl," the shield spoke with its newformed mouth, using the voice she'd heard earlier. "Clever, clever girl."

Isabella stared at it. "You must be Balat."

Allison and Abigail both muttered something when Isabella said that.

"Guilty," Balat admitted, maintaining that crescent smile. "A shame… such a shame! I said some truths, you know… most of that was true. Enough to make you trust me, I thought. Perhaps the mother thing was a bit heavy-handed. You just look like you needed one… and after the way you dealt with your cousin… well, it doesn't matter."

"The hell is that thing?" Valerio asked, watching it with a knife pointed.

"A shield," Balat said. "Are you stupid?"

"A devil," Isabella explained. "Or at least its conduit."

Balat laughed, then asked, "What gave me away, Isabella? I'm quite curious."

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