Vrana had seen the Skarisi do far worse to those that dared to be different than the punishment meted out on Tremay. It was Lyred's lone dissenting act of humanity that gave Vrana a momentary glimpse of hope in the strange new world of knowledge and stone.

During the journey from Ty to Harenis, something had died inside Vrana. As the coastline of the island disappeared she felt as if some part of her stomach had been slowly ripped out. To leave the place that had been more than simply a home, but almost an extension of Vrana herself was an unspeakable suffering. To leave behind everyone and everything that Vrana had ever known to the predations of the Skarisi was even worse. Vrana's exile began with terrible pain and only conscious efforts to lose herself in her work over the years had numbed it in any way.

As their ship tumbled through the choppy waters of the Southern Arc Sea, it was Parane who brought food and comfort to Vrana. It was clear that her brooding and often angry father was in no mood to adopt a foundling, however much the lonely Parane longed for a sister. Vrana would be the House of Neem's problem, not that of the House Vanderschal.

If it had been down to Parane's father, Vrana would have been left at the dockside of Harenis and told to make her own luck, but it was the insistence of her mother that temporarily won through. Lyred would know what to do, she said. Tellingly, no one in the Tyan expedition assumed that Valis would have any interest in Vrana's fate at all.

Following Tremay's humiliation, the crowds had dispersed and with them, Vrana's new, if reluctant adoptive family. Vrana was left sitting on the steps of the House of Neem as Parane's mother spoke at length with Lyred, explaining the events that had Jed to a frightened lonely island girl sitting outside. Eventually, Lyred called to see her. Vrana trembled with relief when she saw that the man who had relieved Tremay's suffering would decide her fate.

Her first recollection of Lyred was that he was kind and that he was more interested in seeing that she ate than he was in asking questions.

"What to do with you then?" he mused, "I'm afraid we have no need of any more servants Vrana, but I imagine you're quite resourceful. Do you read?"

"Skarisi Vannic," she said, eager to please.

Lyred raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. He got up and slid a book from the shelf above him, and passed it to her.

"Can you read this?" he asked.

She opened it up, studied the calligraphy and nodded emphatically.

"The Book of Dancare," she said, feeling pleased with herself.

"Skaris's version of it at any rate," Lyred added, "...good, we begin tomorrow then."

"Begin what?" she asked, bemused.

"You're education Vrana, we begin your education."

It had been this tutelage and care that had kept her safe for ten years. She was under no illusions that there were no guarantees for her in Harenis and only Lyred's kindness kept her safe from the horrors of preparation. She lived with a constant fear of the future and an almost unbearable guilt about the fate she had avoided that so many of those she loved had suffered.

Eventually she and Parane had grown together as sisters, even though Parane's parents could only ever quite manage condescension towards Vrana. Parane's kindness in the early days was the only thing that took the bitter loneliness away, and in the shy sad Parane, Vrana saw the mirror to herself.

She found herself looking forward to the long rainy Harenian summers where the two of them could cast themselves adrift in the obscure alleyways of the city. They made a curious pair, two thin teenage girls, one fair, one dark. One desperate to be free of a cloying, cosseting family, the other desperate to be protected and safe. It was one day five summers ago that they met not far from the Empty Hand that Vrana felt the great lurch in her stomach and an uncontrollable shaking in her hands as she saw Parane walk down the steps, that she had always expected to come one day. Vrana was deeply and helplessly in love with Parane and knew in her heart that she would never love another human being like this again.

When Parane's father died and Valis became the dominant figure in her life, any other relationships were quickly snuffed out. Valis liked to control Parane with work, leaving her barely enough time to eat and sleep. As their friendship atrophied, Vrana was left with a profound sense of loss and rejection. She had never been able to tell Parane how she felt and once Valis had seized control there had been no space in her life for anyone or anything else. From time to time she had resented Parane, but had longed to be with her as they criss crossed the corridors and halls of the House of Neem. Following Valis's decision to evict the entire scholarly body from the house, Vrana had begun to wonder if her resentment towards Parane was misplaced.

When she finally saw Lyred, he was ascending the steps of the House of Dorus, no doubt to see Morthunde, a man not dissimilar to Valis in many ways. He had stepped through the great doors of the house which swung shut before Vrana was able to enter. That familiar dread returned to the pit of her stomach, along with the urgent fear that she must find a new home and fast.

She drifted around the plaza for several minutes, before a group of Dorusian scholars emerged from a side street, returning to their school. Vrana followed them, three paces behind, and slipped through the doors as they opened.

She hurried up the curving stone stairs that led to the masters chambers, guided by the distant echoey sound of Lyred's voice.

The less familiar reedy voice of Morthunde could also be heard echoing down the empty corridors, growing louder as Vrana got closer.

"This is an over reaction Lyred, you have no idea what you are asking for and the sheer impossibility of it, it is simply preposterous."

"A time will come, Morthunde, when you will regret these words, and inevitably it will be too late to change your mind," came Lyred's reply.

Now Vrana was close, she could hear which door the conversation was emanating from. She was beginning to regret her insistence on finding Lyred, but was now unable to disengage from the conversation she was a secret audience to.

"There is, and has been so much to regret Lyred. If, as you say, Valis has broken the Resonance Oath and is engaged in a foolish search for the arcane then we must act against him swiftly...."

"...not without the council," interjected Lyred, aware that Morthunde had reasons, as yet unclear, to keep the question of Valis a secret.

There was a long and pregnant pause, Morthunde considered his options. Then with a tone of immense reluctance in his voice he spoke.

"Very well Lyred, call a council of the houses. You may speak for Neem."

"Be in no doubt what I will ask of you all. We must bring them back, all of them, take them out of whatever hole you put them in."

Vrana had no desire to hear any more, whatever Lyred spoke of was something she could happily live with not knowing about. There was a powerful impulse within her to vanish and hide, but she suspected that Lyred would learn of her presence at Dorus one way or another. Their relationship had been built on transparency from the outset and it was vital not to undermine the trust he had for her at this precarious moment in her life.

She stood and waited far enough down the corridor to allow Lyred the chance to believe that she hadn't heard anything at all. He emerged with Morthunde, both men shrouded in a conspiratorial silence. Lyred saw her instantly and frowned with concern.

"Vrana," he said as the two men drew close to her, "why are you here?"

"I was afraid, Master Lyred, after Lord Valis closed the House of Neem I was desperate that..."

"...that you would be sent back to Ty," said Morthunde, "...and from there to Skaris," demonstrating that he understood her plight fully. There was a painful, shaming silence as Vrana realised that her vulnerability was on display for anyone to see. She nodded silently, staring at the floor, unable even to summon the energy to beg.
"Vrana is a Vannic scholar, she versed in the Skarisi variations. She should been with Dorus to begin with," said Lyred. Morthunde understood exactly what the girl meant to Lyred and under different circumstances would have enjoyed tormenting him, or used Vrana as leverage. Today, however, Morthunde needed a pliant and cooperative Lyred in anticipation of a full council meeting and such games would prove counterproductive. Besides, she might make a useful hostage at a later date.

"Vrana, your home is here at Dorus, the house keepers will find you suitable accommodation." His effortless rescue of Vrana was delivered with a painful smile. He turned away from a speechless Vrana to a relieved Lyred.

"Shall we?" he said to his newly indebted colleague, gesturing towards the stairwell.