Thalga sits alone in her room that evening, processing everything discovered that day. The pieces are connecting: The Void, The Edge of Existence, Vita's disappearance there, Naomi's experiences, Einar's purple-streaked hair, Gilgamesh's corruption, Rose's entire settlement consumed by the sand. There's a darker force at work, and that "Professor" Askdyrnir seems to be a potentially powerful ally who knows about it...

Vita's unpredictability grows more concerning day by day. Yet another incident where her actions put people in grave danger. Thalga reflects on the message she sent her grandfather that morning. She feels justified, though a bit worried she won't be believed.

The four of them know more than anyone. But who would believe her if something goes wrong with Vita? Contacting Einar seems illogical; he'd panic and erase memories instead of listening.
Lorelai and Kaedlin? They work in a way that makes her uncomfortable, and are somehow bound by an oath.

And then there's Rose's sudden boyfriend-to-be, part of some secret faction named The Covenant, which connects back to Askdyrnir.

For Thalga, raised in the Sâdbaradi way of life, conflicts end in compromise and problems are solved through talking. But this city's secrets and mistrust are a culture clash for her.

She remembers stories of Khaz'Darad—the settlement destroyed during the desert dwarven conflict before Convergence, which later became the uniting grounds of Kohbarad once again. Differences brought them back to the table because they couldn't live without each other.

She processes her thoughts, then gets on the ground, plants herself firmly, and breathes deeply to calm her mind. One step at a time, as her grandfather taught her. She makes a promise: they'll get on Askdyrnir's good side, no matter what the others say. She also decides to take Oyindamola up on her offer soon. A quiet evening talking about inventions would perhaps help clear her head.

As she meditates, she hears squeaking from the window. One of the hinges needs fixing—something she meant to do weeks ago before all this happened. Thalga gets up, takes out some lubricant, and fixes the hinge. Much better. She leaves the window open; the desert night is refreshingly cold. She changes into a nightgown, lies down, and counts Niðavellirian sheep until she dozes off.

Sometime in the night, Thalga feels something falling onto her face. She wakes to find dust—no, sand—across her face and a trail leading from the window, which has somehow blown open. She gets up to close it. Just before she does, she sees a shimmer in the distance—a humanoid shape watching her—but it fades from view.

Unsettled but tired, Thalga closes the window and goes back to bed. She hears Vita's snoring even louder from across the hall. She turns around once, twice, three times. The window cracks open again. Sand scatters across the floor.

Frustrated, Thalga gets up and closes it again, this time looking outside more carefully. Behind a palm tree, she sees the shimmer again—definitely a humanoid shape watching her.

Someone is out there...

Thalga closes the window, takes a few steps back, and waits by her desk. Then she senses something—an arcane pulse, familiar but subtle. The window opens again on its own. Thalga takes out her crossbow, moves to the window, and looks again. The shape reappears. This time she sees a hand forming in the sand.

She quickly throws on some clothing, activates her armor, and makes a decision: she climbs down the column beside her window rather than risk waking the others by going through the door.

The shape changes into a trail, a path of sand moving slowly across the ground, leading away from the academy toward the city streets. Thalga follows, alert and curious. The trail leads her south through alleyways. Eventually it stops in a dead-end alley where there's nowhere left to go. The sand settles onto the ground. A drunken passerby stumbles past, then everything is quiet.

Thalga begins the conversation with: "Okay, you can show yourself now."

Very slowly, the sand rises up. A humanoid shape appears, then details emerge: a cloak, a headdress with a symbol shaped differently from Thalga's but clearly related. Hers is inspired by Sâdbarad, but this one is from Âtashbarad. A dwarf appears from the sand. They remove their mask.

"It is good to see you again, sister."

Thalga recognizes him—not a blood relative, but the eldest son of her parents' friends. Originally a Sâdbaradi dwarf, but one who decided to step away from Sâdbarad and embrace the life of sand. He addresses her as "sister" in the dwarven way of recognition.

Naram explains that her grandfather received her message. He cannot assist directly, so he sent Naram. Naram has finished his mastery of the ways of Âtashbarad. He's here at her discretion.

Naram asks what news has reached Costa Del Rugido about Sâdbarad. Not much—the city keeps things wrapped up. She's heard communications were lost after an elemental storm.

Naram reveals the truth: The Great Reservoir of Sâdbarad has taken tremendous damage. The dwarven council is in crisis at Kohbarad. Initially, some council members accused Âtashbarad of causing it, but those accusations are baseless. This wasn't merely an accidental storm. It seemed targeted, though there's no evidence proving such a thing.

The reservoir had to be shut down. Repairs could take longer than a year. Water is the source of life—without it, the Sâdbaradi suffer. Naram was reporting to Thalga's grandfather when he was entrusted with coming to see her.

Naram asks Thalga, "You specify that the Luminary is not to be trusted. What do you mean by that?"

Thalga explains that they are still trying to piece it all together, but the Luminary Einar Giedensera seems afflicted by The Void. He's intent on keeping everyone at bay. Thalga uses the term "The Void," but Naram mentions that she could also use the word from old Âtashbaradi lore documents: Ginnugagap.

Thalga mentions that one of her companions is related to Einar. Naram asks Thalga, "So there are two Luminary?" Thalga clarifies: a half-Luminary. Einar's child with a human servant. Einar was "enamored" with her. To say it poetically, on one spring morning, spring had sprung. Naram is surprised—this should be impossible.

Naram points out that Sâdbarad also relies on Einar Giedensera for the crystals that protect several smaller settlements across the desert. Thalga mentions that some of them have blackened. Naram confirms that in Mehrabelle's Mirage several spires have been afflicted similarly.

Naram asks what he can do for Thalga; her grandfather assigned him to assist her in any way he can. Thalga proclaims that the entire region of Concordia and the Sunfire Expanse could be in danger. Naram points out that there are signs of potential elemental storms, but predicting them seems almost impossible. If there were a way to predict them, perhaps evacuations would have been possible.

Naram reveals the casualties from the elemental storm that hit The Great Reservoir: 15 dead, 40 injured—mostly those at the reservoir, crushed or drowned. The storm hit quickly without the usual buildup, which is why some thought it was an attack.

A few hours after the storm, one of the Stewards of Solaris arrived via Sundial to investigate. A large lionfolk with blonde fur, capable of taking away headaches with mere water. Naram doesn't know their name. Thalga mentions that flowers at The Royal Palace have turned black, which lines up with the other events.

Naram points out that he could investigate what is happening at the royal palace, but that would not be an easy assignment, especially if Luminary Einar Giedensera remains there.

Thalga explains Einar's power: if you come within 30 feet of him, he automatically reads your mind. If you possess knowledge he thinks you shouldn't have, he wipes your mind.

Naram seems intrigued. "That is powerful black magic." Thalga wonders if there's perhaps something to be learned at Einar's mansion. Thalga explains that Einar has already wiped her mind once, but only because of her friends does she now know what was taken from her. Naram wonders if it might be worth investigating a way to shield against it.

Naram offers to investigate several things, but cannot do multiple things at once.

• Investigate the royal palace

• Investigate Einar's mansion

• Research how to protect minds from Einar's abilities

• Or... investigate the missing people from the Temple of The Undecided

Naram mentions that he went to see Dzharo, and his young apprentice seemed upset as she filed a missing persons report for the head cleric Anvari and her husband Naqshgar. Thalga mentions that there was an incident at the Temple of The Undecided. Naram asks if she was involved.

Thalga explains further: they encountered a lionfolk Subjurforged in the Temple of The Undecided's restricted section. Vita touched it and it came back to life. A fire broke out.

And ever since that incident, many involved have gone missing.

Naram asks her to clarify what she means by "petrify." When Thalga mentions that early on they came across a tablet that can turn creatures to stone, Naram shifts—sand moves around him. Thalga senses that there's something more to this. He knows more than he's saying.

Naram asks what the Subjurforged was doing there. Thalga says that it was part of an exhibition, a remembrance of The Throne War. But there are unusual statues of animals all across the desert that have no proper explanation. One of them, Naram explains, is a snake armored with iron and huge spider-like claws.

Thalga and Naram decide to return to the topic at hand. Thalga decides that Naram should investigate the missing people first. She's convinced that The Stewards are involved. Naram questions her: if the Stewards are involved, then the royal family is involved.

Thalga knows that the four Stewards—Lorelai, Kaedlin, Beaufort, and Feronis—swore an oath to Einar Giedensera, but she doesn't mention this to Naram.

Naram informs Thalga that there are things he cannot tell her without permission from the Âtashbarad side of the council, or unless she "embraces the way of the sand." Thalga understands, but says that for now it's better to focus on the task at hand.

Naram asks if he should free the missing people, or merely observe and inform her of the situation. While Thalga jokes that she's come to embrace chaos, it could cause a panic.

For now, keep it to discovering where they are and what happened to them.

Naram says that he'll report back as soon as possible if he finds something, or in ten days if he comes up empty-handed. Naram will also keep her informed about Sâdbarad. He'll make sure that someone watches over her—she'll notice sand nearby whenever he or one of his people is around.

Thalga mentions another group: The Covenant. They use a white dagger on a black field as their symbol. Rose made contact with them. When Thalga says this, Naram's eyes squint. There was a reaction, but she doesn't know what it means. He claims not to have heard of them. Thalga isn't sure if The Covenant are trustworthy, as they are "sneaky-sneaky," in her words.

Naram points out the irony in her statement, as he's quite literally a sneaky sand dwarf. When Thalga proclaims that she can trust him because "they are on the same side," Naram points out that at some points in history, they weren't. The two joke for a moment about the elders on both sides of the council.

...
...
...

Before parting, Naram offers to teach Thalga a way to communicate silently. He pours brass-golden sand into her hand—arcane sand used to train young dwarves in the ways of Âtashbarad.

"Think with your mind what you want the sand to do. Keep it simple."

Thalga thinks to form an exclamation point, and almost effortlessly, the sand slowly rises, floats, and creates the point. It just happens.

Naram is stunned. It took him a month to do that. He wasn't kidding—he's genuinely shocked. Thalga picked it up in ten seconds. He tells her to command the sand to become a charm or bracelet. It transforms into a zigzag bracelet around her wrist. Naram was half-joking; he did not actually think she would pick it up that quickly.

Thalga deflects, suggesting she may have formed a connection with the land while here. It's a blatant lie. Naram is even more amazed. He says it took him half a year to make consistent shapes. He questions whether she's sure she grew up in Sâdbarad—this shouldn't be possible.

Thalga practices a bit more. She forms the sand into a ball, launches it at the wall, and it forms the word "sand" in Dwarvish. Naram is even more amazed. He repeats that it took him half a year to make consistent shapes. Again, he questions whether she's truly from Sâdbarad.

Naram tells her that if Thalga ever wants to learn more about the ways of Âtashbarad, he'd be honored to make an introduction, though the Âtashbarad council would have questions about why she picked up sand magic so quickly.

They part. Naram looks up at the moon, now descending as dawn approaches.

Naram tells Thalga, "Tame the sun." He slowly turns to sand, then disappears.

Thalga realizes she never asked why an Âtashbaradian spy was at her grandfather's council in the first place. That seems unusual. During their conversation, there were two moments where Thalga picked up on the fact that there's more he isn't letting on—especially about the petrification.

But Thalga hasn't shared everything either. She said things with the intent of catching his interest, testing what he knows, making sure he understands that the situation is far too complex. There may be things he'll run into that even she doesn't yet understand.