Worlds Beyond Number - WWW #32: The Vote

Episode Date: July 30, 2024

The defense makes its closing arguments. The pillars of Umora shake beneath the firmament. A guest speaker makes a short presentation. Weird. Feels like we've been here before.Worlds Beyond Number is:Brennan Lee MulliganErika IshiiAabria IyengarLou Wilson and is produced, designed, and scored by Taylor Moore at Fortunate Horse with exquisite design and editing help from Jared OlsonSPECIAL THANKS TO: Tazer Army, Shannon, and Amanda Freberg!Transcript of this episode coming soon! You can find transcripts of all our episodes here, for free, on our Patreon.Our album art is by the great Corey BrickleySome additional ambient sound design comes from Michael Ghelfi Studios. You can get their sounds and music for your home games and VTT as well, which we enthusiastically recommend. 

This is the sound of Worlds Beyond Number. A fire crackles in a vast heap with armchairs and tables in an open long haul, all shoved awkwardly into the corner right around the fireplace. The fox on the rug looks confused at the image, glittering in the shard of mirror from the small spider constructs back as he chooses. on a sausage link. Ursulaan, you and you alone understand

the speech of the tree of worlds as Amay and Sufi look on. The image fades as Hekaya leaves the vision of the stars at the top of the tree. And the mirror alights back into the music box. I take a moment to explain.

As best I can't kind of just narrate it or, you know, kind of going back and forth between Hakea and the Iowala. You explain everything with some wild new information about the nature of the coven of elders, the fact that the tree had other wands to make other great covens, that it was, in other words, that the nature of the coven of elders is not an inherent element of witchcraft.

Witchcraft doesn't need a high counsel of all great forms of magic. That was what Hakea believed was most useful. It was a choice of a mortal witch to say, I would rather have these other dark or terrible forces gathered together and bound in covenant so that what needed to be resolved between us might be in this magical compact. You see that the wand had the ability to make many more than five to induct other stations into it, and that Hikea must have been the one to, it's possible, it's not, it might not have been her making every new witch, but she certainly had to have inducted the first other one, right? And then you also, you see, there were other wands that Hakea could have chosen.

She made the call for the wand she wanted. That wand is here in the castle. And you have the proof here of Ame's ability to advocate for herself. have the point of fact in history. Okay. Well, that's what we were saying. And now it's like a thing. It's a thing.

Yeah, it's not just very inconvenient for them to be a stalemate. It's magically impossible. Yeah. You're good. You're good. We're good. We're good. And I let out a sigh.

And I feel this weight that has not lifted since those little ice fairies busted into the citadel is. This is at least eased. While Amay's like breathing, I'm going to reopen the music box, and I think just deeply inspired by Amme. Thank you to the little spider. Give me an arcana if you'd be so in. Give me a flat arcana check.

22. As you open it and say thank you, the spider leaps to your arm to get. get into the music box, and then as it lands on your arm, you say thank you. And the spider stops for a moment, turns to you, lifts up a little sort of circular jagged shard of mirror, and just kind of like spins it over its head for a second in a little gesture. Of some, in a little non-utilitarian gesture of some kind of feeling,

and then jumps on the mirror. I do it back with my sort of free hat. Well, one's got the box and once got the spider. So press the digitation. And I make a little thing of it doing it back. Like, I don't know, just a little finger. Well, a mirror box understands reflection. So, yeah, you see the spider.

Yeah, it goes back into its spot. But in saying thank you, from that Identify Spell you cast, you know on a 22 arcana that the spider does something. it was not enchanted to do and that no wizard knows it can do on this planet but you. You are the only wizard that knows it can do that. And I think you realize

that the only reason that that is not something you knew it could do is that no wizard of the citadel tested that. And I think it's a thought that doesn't come with like an eye towards advantage and I think it grounds her out of like the sort of mounting panic that she's been experiencing and it's just a good feeling

and then she just has a good feeling and moves on with her day. A growth arc. A growth arc. How about it? And the four of you are here in the space together having it is now almost three in the morning and Amé is

saved. You have have the thing in Sly's prophecy, the wizard sly said, if the wizard sky does not go with you to this conclave, you will die. And then you realize that effectively, the plan was for Ame to just be like, don't you think it would be really bad

if there was just four? And now there is a proof, something from memory of what this would be. Suve. Of course. to see Yo'uola

is truly something spectacular. Where does the memory come from? This is one of the stars in Inreys sort of star library.

And I describe very briefly because we all got the download from the Fox of what that looked like. Got it. Oh, from that space. Yeah. Incredible. When you did that when I was

going and getting my snake talk, snake-filled talk with injury. What is, what's this little spider? Remember what I said before this, where I can't super explain? This was something built for me to bring to this place. And I know. I've been able to figure out that you guys have some, maybe plausible reservations about the Citadel. But please believe me when I tell you, I don't know why I have it.

Can I do some sort of, because this is troubling, this sounds like some sort of memory tampering, just like I had with my curse. Give me insight. Can I also give you insight? Yeah, both of you guys can give me insight. Yeah, I won. 17. Ursula, you're so tired.

You, think of what your day has been. Think of what your day has been. Remember when I got folded in half and sucked into a woman? You were, you've been the drunkest you've ever been in your life today. On that one, you're just like, you're fucking, and you just perfectly translated an ancient witch memory. You're zapped, man. You're fucking zapped. you look at Ursula, look at you, and it's just, his eyes just slowly close.

Oh. I like slow blink back at him because he is a little bit of cat. He likes us. On a 17, on a 17 insight, you already knew that Suvie was going to go try to steal knowledge. I sent her to go steal secrets. So this is like, okay, you have a little tool that helps you do the thing that I thought was a good idea to do. and then her not knowing about it, the things that it could be, yeah, memory tampering could be one, she also could have a compulsion on her just to not be able to talk about it.

You know, and there are a number of magical explanations, but I think on a 17, you don't feel panicked about it. You maybe even arrive at a conclusion similarly where you go like, actually, I think a lot of my sisters probably can read minds. So if all that this is is a way for her to have an incredible tool in a way that can't be clocked by my sisters, maybe you would even partially appreciate the cleverness of how this has come to pass, that you're like, oh, that is how you would smuggle something in here. Thank you so much, Suvie. Yeah, I'm glad. Slime is right.

All right, good. Yeah, he hasn't been wrong. That's far. We should get some sleep. We have to be up soon. Yeah. May I... Can I show this to that? No. Okay. Um, do we have... Do we... Request that she pulls up that memory?

Hecaya? With her mind? No. In the library. If you mention this... This memory, I will have a problem about how the memory was wrought. I had to use Vandal as an explanation for why the locking spell was gone. Love lying. Please lie good so that I don't die. I wasn't really covered in the making it out on Slyzan.

Like we got your kind of get out of jail free card. I also would like to go home. We're all exhausted. I think we'll get some sleep, and we'll... Oh, please. Um, Suvi, you return to your tower to get some rest knowing that tomorrow will be... I'm not going to return to my tower. Oh, okay.

I, like, look, going back to, like, back in Arc 1, Suvee has a profound capacity for endurance that's been trained into her by the Citadel. We only have a couple hours left until Ameg goes into Conclave. And Suvi has a strong anxiety about the finish line. So Ursula's asleep. Amay, I want Amay to rest, and Suvi will stay awake to make sure nothing happens before we get inside. Are you sure? I'm good.

And I'll spend time drawing and making my sort of second ritual space temporary, though it may be, wherever the two of you bed down and I'll advocate for it to be here in this room. Oh, yes, we already. And spend the time, like, using salt and, like, whatever little chalk. It's not my best work. I just need a ritual circle. To keep a, like, ritual detect magic up for the rest of the night to make sure nothing untoward happens to them.

She will make it to conclave, and she will win. Before I go to bed, you know, as I'm sort of getting ready for bed and doing my little skin care. I just silently put a cup of coffee next to you. It's going to be okay. Yeah, yeah. One way or another, it will always be okay. Bame trots off the fox remains behind her for a second and looks up at Sufi.

And you see he smiles and cocks his head and just nods slowly, like you and he have been lifelong. And he's like watching you go to college, you know? Like, it's like, it's the wrong emotion for this moment, but he's new to all this. So you see, he looks up at you and just goes like, if you're going to trick people, you have to know a lot of stuff. He just walks in a little circle around you, licks your ankle, and then walks up after Rameh. Sufi has been raised to be too praise seeking to look that gift in the mouth. I'll take it.

The fox is my dad in these. proud of me. You stay up. Ursulaan and Ame, you awake, not having gotten as many hours as you might have liked, but we're going to call it a long rest. Oh, that, yeah. For Suvi, we're not going to call it a long rest. But you remain up that entire night.

There are two instances throughout the night. One is you see off in the distance, not in the courtyard outside this window, but in one past it. You see Costa walk by. And he, he continues walking. He doesn't come towards this keep. And way later, like 5 or 6 a.m., something like that. And again, it's eternal night here.

But, like, closer to the time that they be waking up, two little ice fairies poke up their head, catch you wide awake, cup of coffee in hand, and leave. And there's a moment where it's like, were they on innocent business or were they here to do something? Your true friends will never have to find out. I think Suvie's doing her best to, like, in the, like, deep quiet, like, they're weird. I can be weird.

What's a human being that didn't get sleep? And, like, just one eye blinks at a time. Makes eye contact with the fairies. These little cyclops fairies, look at you, blink each eye individually, and they're like, bleh. And fly off. Amme and Ursuline, you awake, having had a long rest for the next day. And head off under the stars. Now it's day three of no sunlight,

and I think you're starting to feel it. That's enough time that you're like, hmm, this is my second morning with it being night when I wake up. And head off towards the conclave. You guys arrive in the hall and see Injury Costa, you see Grimor,

and her wide-pack Heinruel. As you guys walk in, you see this moment of, there's a moment of tension as you arrive. Gremor looks out, and you see that sort of like looks predatorily in Suve's direction, and suddenly snaps looking at something that seems to horrify and upset Gremor, which is Heinrull, gets up, puts on his human glamour,

as he's walking, another spirit comes up and puts his little modesty rag around. around him. He looks right at Ursula and goes, and claps him on the back. You see, Grimor looks at that injury looks a little bit confused at this as well. And she turns to speak and watches an ice fairy

flit by her with a letter signed with some glyphs on it to Ame, which is a little thank you from Tefmet. So Heinle comes up to you, and Hegea enters with two new spirits you have not seen before. There is a tall, green-skinned woman with this like, with broad, beautiful, proud features, sort of poison yellow eyes, a spike of thorns as a mohawk along her bald scalp

and a huge bow of thorn. horns over her shoulders. And then you see on Hakea's shoulder, there is a little spirit that is like a bundle of herbs with red thread around its ankles and wrists that looks like an animated spirit of dried herbs.

And these spirits walking with her. So Heinrille comes up and braces Ursulae. This letter from Tefmet comes to Ameh. And Hakea goes right up to Suvi and goes, Hello, there you clever one. And you see Injury and Grimor and Marara, who's now in this space, Marara is always expressionless, but Indry and Gromor look as all of these kindnesses descend on the retinue of the witch of the world's heart. And you just see Indri go have an expression of, I'm losing it.

As the witch of the wild hunt, the witch of the wind and stars, and the witch of the waning moon, watch as they yet again. have underestimated the station of the world's art. When you got friends, you got everything. I want to, like, give a little nod to Marara and say, good morning and thank you again for the help and advice last night. Injury whips her head to Marrara. And you see that Marrara can't turn to look at injury? And goes,

It is time for the conclave. And all of a sudden Niceness is meaner than meanness. There's this weird moment where you're suddenly like These two very tall ladies and then Gromor is kind of shorter than them But suddenly they're just three, like they go from being Titans to three women standing in a room on their back feet. Like, like, okay.

And they move into conclave. Once again, taking their thrones. You see, Hakea offers her arm to, Ame. I gratefully take it and I wave to Suvi and Ursula and give a little. Can I have the benefits of a short rest while I was keeping? Absolutely. Cool.

Then I'm going to regain a level two spell slot so I can send Ame off with an enhance ability. Ooh. For the Conglary. What ability are you choosing? I think it's got to be charisma. We know what we need to know. You just want to sell it. So let's give you a charisma boost, baby.

As you cast Enhanceability, what does that look like? Oh, yeah. This one is Eagle Splendor, and I go back and think of, I don't know why I'm so, like, locked into stories, and I think of, like, the stories that we read when we were little together, during that summer. And I imagine

like just one of the drawings that we did way back in the day that was like on the wall and then Grandmother Wren made us clean it off.

And like as I give you like a little side pat not a full hug because I don't want to embarrass you in front of your friends. I think you just feel something like bloom

across your like the middle of your back like a pair of little wings that are crosshatched, that same sort of like wood carving story illustration, a little more discreet than the one for Erzong because much magic we're allowed to use on people. As you construct this, you, Sufi, look and see these witches who have not dispelled their oras for anybody else's benefit of like sleepy pollen and terrifying bloodst up.

And you're basically here being like, here's a boost for you. You are granted an aura of this crosshatching, this memory of this time together. And I think that what you can feel, because it is this wizardly magic coming to you, and it's interesting to think about what would a wizard add to the charisma of a witch? And to me, I think that with the pollen gone, the clarity of mind you feel as you enter into this space, you know that moment where you're in the shower the next day and think of what you would have said? Visions of your future self in showers impart to you the gift of what you would say two days from now.

The library of retorts and comebacks is available to you in the moment of your greatest necessity. This is the most powerful spell that's ever been cast. I could kill a god. And you walk into the conclave where that may in fact be one of the topics of conversation. I wave at Ursula. I turn from Heinle and bow. I bow just to do. Conclave, the light of the northern star gleams,

encircling in silver radiance five thrones, arranged like the points of a pentacle. You see the edges of the ice-blue walls in the massive spiring dome fall into deep blue icy shadow. The witches of the Covenant of Elders take their seats and injury host Witch of Wind and Stars. Speaks. Good morrow, sisters, even here

in this realm of night. We resume the business of yesterday's gathering, hopefully rested and fed and welcomed to my palace. I offer all the kindness of my sanctum to you in the coming conclave, and let us begin the business of our gathering in earnest. Of those great comings and goings of the world of spirit and mortals, it is given to us to discuss three objects of significance.

First and foremost of these discussions is the fate of the station of the world's heart and its witch, Amme of Toma. Second of our conclave's business is a report from a member of my retinue, Tafmet, the Antivalist, and business concerning this coven on the nature of the citadel

of the Kemsarazan Empire. And third, should our sister be here by the time this business is taken up, the item of consideration put forward by which of the world's heart, discussing the presence in our world of a spirit known as the man in black. Do these orders of business appease the desires of our sisters gathered here? Gromor, snarls in assent.

Hakea, having let go of your arm and sort of sat into her throw with her serpent around her, You see that her mossy gown now has bright daffodils all over it. And there is a curling vine of some lavender pink and violet blooms around her neck. And you see that she has what looks like butterflies rather than moths around her that are scintillating and powerful. And you see that she looks awake in a very funny way. She was so tired and checked out yesterday. She looks awake now, but her awake is still an ancient awake.

She doesn't look like peppy and alert. Instead, her eyes are quite bright and reflective, and even though she still has like heavy lids wrinkled with age looking at injury, her gaze is sharp and fixed. Her awakeness is a still one of intense focus. And you see Marara sort of cocks her head at a diagonal in a nod. And injury turns to see if Amé accepts these topics of conversation. Amé beams at her and inclines her head solemnly.

You see the fox, like at your feet, cocks his head to the side and he mirrors your little nod. and you see that the injury is looking at how happy you are, and that porcelain smiling rage on her face is back. Hot. Yesterday, perhaps too hastily, we took up the matter of the station of the witch of the world's heart. As was told to us in her report by our sister, Ame, this station has come into incongruism. with the remaining stations of the Coven of Elders.

Our domains abut and cause friction with it, and we must consider whether its position yet belongs within the Coven of Elders. Hakea, as the dissenting vote, do you require more time to consider this matter, or shall the Coven take up the vote, on the possibility that this station may need to be removed from the coven. You see, Hakea goes,

I accept, let's get on with it. Very well. Seeing no need for statements to be made in one way or another, let us commence to voting. I actually would love to make a statement if it please the council. As the subject of this vote, you are, of course, allowed to give any statement you wish, perhaps, as your final words. Such a gracious host, thank you. The proposal for my station to be eliminated is predicated on our domains being in conflict with one another, correct?

That is correct, which of the world's heart, as I have just said. I just wanted to make sure that I did not misunderstand you. Our coven was formed on the foundation of our opposing truths, being brought together to bridge the world between humans and spirit. Is that not so, Sister Heccea? Hakea turns her focus to you, not quickly, but you can tell that there is effort in the shifting,

of her focus and she goes to you and says, precisely. The domain, the responsibility of the realm of the world's heart, has always been to foster communication, community, togetherness, help so that our magic and the magic of the world and the mundane moves forward together in harmony. It's a difficult task, but one that I have seen Grandma Wren, our sister, Ren, be more than up to. She taught me that magic is great in the interplay between disparate forces coming together. And that's true not only philosophically, but also magically, correct?

You see, injury froze her brow for a minute, and you see Grimor goes, What are you driving at, sister? That magically, our opposing forces are bound together by covenant, and that it is in our nature to disagree with one another. See, Gromor, snarls and shifts, and you see, Hecquia says, you prove the witch of the world's heart point in your foul mood, Gromor. And you see, Gromor looks up,

kind of, give me a little insight check. 22. You look at Grimor who looks at Hakea and suddenly like, we're, you get, has a look of, we're a team, you've chastised me. What happened? What happened? But you see it just sort of looks almost in that

a mournful, like, loop. pine predator. Like, why? The witch of the world's heart point is well taken. Opposition is the cornerstone of this coven to address the vastness of the forces of our world. And acknowledge that the faces of truth are many. there are wild differences still possible to bridge. And here you see a little bit of moisture collect in the corner of her eyes

as she looks out and decides after maybe a thousand years to care about the thing she started again. Beautiful poetry. The nature of the coffin. our forces meant to oppose. And yet, I wonder to myself what in your words addresses the present matter of the existence of your station. Is it not true that the world's heart would still beat without its witch? What true harm would befall this council should your station be removed?

gracious host, injury of the Winden Stars. It is far more than just flowery words. There are the old ways that we must honor. There's a power in the numbers of our descent. Three, five, seven, nine. We began as a conclave strong in numbers, and we have dwindled. The bridge will crumble.

Should the meeting end with four? As you say this, you feel magic echoes out in this place. You see, Marara cocks her head. Is that so? Grimor snarls. What is this? What could she? know of the old ways. She's nothing more than a pup.

Young Amé, the nature of the old ways, escaped even Wren from time to time, to know of the true foundations of magic. Ancient magic. If we wish to speak of ancient magic, why not shut our mouths and listen to one who was there? I incline my head towards Hecaya. The witch army knows.

of magic. There need not even be opposition on even sides. Even the possibility rends the covenant sunder. Should the conclave end with sides opposed an even number, the magic of this conclave, the purpose that even in opposition some path forward might be reached? These numbers are not simply magically significant, they tell the story of what we are here to do, which is to find a path forward, even if we cannot always see eye to eye. And if the coven departs with the possibility that sides be split evenly on lines of opposition, then the magic is broken. Marara turns into Hakea and says, why did you not raise this point yesterday? I assumed you would all be clever enough to know.

I thought that's what we were trying to do, end the conclave. And you see she sort of slumps into a tired position in her throne. Grimora looks at her with sort of this wild gaze. And you see Marara says, Am I to understand that if Amé were destroyed, we would either end the con? enclave and unravel the coven of elders, or destroy another station on the coven? Well, this is surprising.

Surprising? You knew, Indry. Indry looks up at her and says, Heia, I think you might be mistaken. Indry, you might have paint on your lips, but you're old as dirt like me. I know you know these rules. And, um... It's a lovely shade.

You see, injury, her nails clasp on her icy throne. Careful, Akea. I'm... What insult, sister? You are as old as much of the dirt on our world. Amet somehow, like, drops up into a little... Oh. You see that, you see, Akia turns to you, Amay, and goes,

Dirt refreshes. Most of dirt is actually rotten vegetation. It's true. I would love to talk to you about soil sometime. Oh, my. And you see, Grimor says, Hakea, don't you think? Marrara whips over to Grimor and says,

And did you know, Gromor? Gromor are at your best when you are honest. And Grimor turns to Marrara and says, I knew. Marara says, So the plan In the wake of all we know That has before

And, Amay, you're, you're like someone at the head Of a line of dominoes that you just pushed As watching them get steadily bigger As they approach the horizon The fox looks up at you And it's basically checking in with you Shh Shh!

Yes, yes. Omey shakes her head to like a tie A little bit and looks at him and he goes Lambe good In your mind A lamb cook A little cookie Um

Marara says So In the wake Of all that was to befall this world All of the conversations We have had The long years Of bashing our heads

Against the brick wall Of Wren's obstinance We were going to let this Coven fall And you see that there is silence injury is completely still. And Hakea looks at Gromor, and you see Gromor is sweating. And Hakea goes, no, Marara, you sweet child.

No, they weren't going to let the cover fall. Don't you see? You were next. And Marara stands up. Injury whips to her. The conclave is not yet concluded. Marora. Whirls in shadow surrounds Injory's throne.

Can we not then take a break, sister? And Injury stands up and says, You fool! This would have all been handled if you had just had the patience to let the meeting happen at night so that the old one had a bite in her stomach beforehand, and Amme would have been dead.

And so would I, sister. We cannot speak to each other this way in this conclave. And you feel the foundations of the palace rumble. Out in the great hall, all of you feel the foundation. nations of the earth shake. Ursula wonders for a second if everything is going as well as he hoped.

Suvi feels so happy. Like, this feels right. Is this right? Yeah. You hear screaming? Ah! What did the other, like, what does the rest of the retinue look like? No one looks like this is great.

Everyone looks around like, this is not normal. Can I scan for, like, someone who looks like this isn't going according to plan? Yeah, give me insight. That's a natural one. I'm sleepy. I'll also, can I also read?

Yeah, give an insight. Now that I see Suvi's smiling. On a natural one, Ame has successfully killed the other four witnesses. Perfect. Natural 20. We're going to kill all. Yeah!

I slept. Folks, you heard it here at World's Beyond Number. You got to get your shut up. Gotta get your shot. You gotta get your shot on. What you see in this moment, Ursula, Marara has no retinue. You look around Aura,

the sort of borealis spirit that is one of the servants, and Neif both look horrified. As the palace shakes on a Nat 20 insight, you see Aura rushes out of the palace to start to restore some enchantments, which makes you think that some of the protections

or enchantments of the Witch of the Winded and Stars might have been disrupted by whatever just happened in the council chamber. On an act 20 insight, you actually, I think, hear and you smell animal snarling happening inside that room. You feel the animal sense of beings in a pack snarling for dominance. You don't think this is a kill rage. You think it is a fight for alpha, right? It's like a fight for dominance in a social group. But you know that things have been disrupted in the palace in this moment.

Of the retinous, you think Hakea has cleaned shop and hers. Like the archer and the sage spirit out here both look genuinely confused. Grimor's pack, Heinruil, and a lot of grimors. You see that Aksha, her apprentice, looks around and gets very worried and leaps up on the lion's back and looks very concerned. Like, this is not part of the plan. This was not supposed to happen. I yawn and remain smug.

I'm gonna wheel next to Suvi, put my hand on wavebreaker. Yeah. And wait. We move back inside. You see, Grimora stands up and says, Marora, take your seat. Or what, sister? I see it now plain.

With Amay gone, if Injri wanted me gone and you did as well, who would Hegeus side with? You, her beloved, or me? someone that has never garnered the respect of this coven. You see, Injury says, Why would you need the coven's respect? You have the man in blacks.

It is my consort with spirits of darkness. Consort as a verb. Not a noun, Marara. Well. Even our bestial sister comes with a pride of those who would serve her. Is it truly an aesthetic choice to come with no retinue other than your familiar? or was there no one who wished to travel with you?

Give me an insight check, Ame. 19. Marara has no face has a mask, but you can see that injury has said something. You actually recognize that Marara for being a weird alien da-da-da-da-da-da. No, Marrara is a witch. There's a human under that mask. And she is on the verge of the thing that has been said has cut her to the core. and she is ruined.

She believed that she was part of a conspiracy that was here to kill you and has realized that the target was also on her back and that she has truly been made a fool of in the most sacred place of her coven. Perhaps our sister Indry had hoped to anoint a new station. Sister Army, you believe that Indry wished to take up the covenant wand and create a new station? That seems the most logical explanation.

If my station, which stood so strongly in opposition to so many others, were to be eliminated, you might still yet end the conclave with five were another witch and her station be elevated to the greatness of the council. In this moment, it seems like Amé is trying to provide an out for injury. You see, as you say this, go ahead and give me persuasion. That's a 25. Yeah! Let's go.

You speak that aloud and offer that out to injury. I offer it to injury, and of course it doesn't matter. manifest visually, but it is almost as if the spirit of Ame's hand reaches out towards injury, offered upwards, to be held to support. Give me now an insight check with advantage. That's a 20 on the die. Oh, my God. Okay.

I am going to extend, this is information I had no intention of revealing in this. this chapter. As you make this offer, injury looks at you. And for the first time that you've seen her, you've seen her mad, you've seen her foiled. She looks at you looking dumb. She has her, her jaw is a little bit slack as you suggest an out she never would have considered. And on a Nat 20 insight, you realize why. What did you see on Grimor's face yesterday? Fear. Grimor is acting because she's a friend. afraid. She is afraid. She is afraid of something in the world. It is an animal fear. Grimor is deeply wise in the nature of the wild hunt. Each of these witches is untouchable in their domain.

But no matter how powerful the beasts are, when the light of the great city burns bright, what do beasts do? They are afraid. And Marara, who you realize is the second youngest. She is the youngest before you. Like, you couldn't have anticipated that because she's so alien, but they are mocking her here in this place. You also can feel out of Nat 20 insight. Grandmother, no one has insulted anyone else's station, which you know would be actually against magical law in this place.

But they are coming really fucking close. This is so messy that it's almost magically dangerous. So your instinct to jump in in smooth bridges is not just Ame being like a politician. You're actually doing a magically significant thing. The temperature's got to come down in here before someone says something that breaks the covenant, right? Like, it's got to cool down in here. On that Nat 20, Murara wanted you dead.

It all comes together to you. She wanted you dead. But what was her motivation? It was fear as well. She came to grandmother, Rand, saying you have to change your mind. when she took your mug originally, when she came to the cottage, she was like, please change your mind. Like, we have to move. It was the same thing where Wren was a holdout. And you suddenly remember it was the talk of unanimity. Grandmother Wren had explained to you that, and all comes together now, of course unanimity would be so powerful in a coven whose whole point is we are all from different universes of magic.

Like if the waning moon and the world's heart and the wind and stars and the wild hunt and the woodland green all agree that something is true and necessary, how potent is that when all these facets of the world agree that something must be done? And thinking of unanimity, you realize that that was Marara's motivation. She just thought when you told the conclave, Grandma Wren is the greatest witch who ever lived. she said, we've got the same fucking problem again. You realize that unanimity is also on injury's mind. And the reason unanimity is on her mind is she's the witch of the wind and stars. You suddenly remember the face she made when you said the word dwindling. A flash, subconscious, something she wouldn't even have clocked in herself.

But the self holds deep truths even in hiding from the conscious mind. And when you said the word dwindling, there was a flash of something like responsibility or guilt. What number on the coven would ensure unanimity? What number of witches would guarantee that the coven was always united? One. And Injri's scheme, hidden from all her sisters, is made clear to you and you alone in this moment. And you wonder exactly who moved behind the fall of Scalphi and Aruna. You take as much time as Amini's to process the weight of what you have just gleaned from Indri's face in this moment.

Hegea speaks and fills the silence as you process. Is this true, Injri? You've found a witch somewhere in the world that you believed of great enough power to represent a station to replace the world's heart? Injury, with great effort, breaks the eye contact from Ame to look at Hekea, several, in fact. and it was a bit of business that I hoped to introduce after we had concluded with the presentation from my retinue. And you see that Grimor says, you didn't offer it as business at the outset of the meeting. It slipped my mind. I apologize.

That would be a fourth item to discuss would be the witches that would possibly replace. You see, Marara, Marara turns to Amé in this moment looking to see what your reaction to what Indri is saying is. How is Amé reacting? Oh, Amé. Clas her hands a little delightedly and says, this is wonderful. Whereas we came to this meeting, it's so much fewer a number and with the troubles of the world. so great. Now perhaps we can leave it, or even

perhaps next meeting, with greater numbers and stronger powers. Give me a persuasion check, once again with advantage. Advantage. 19.

You see that, injury says, oh, well, I think to create a plan to increase the seats. First of all, we, I know that there has been an outburst, but we are still here to consider the motion before us. If we are to speak of, if we are to speak of new seats on the council, that has not been agreed upon as one of the items of discussion.

You see that Hakeas says, neither was new witches for the station to replace the world's heart. If you're allowed to introduce it after the fact replacing the world's heart, certainly our sister, Amé, can, in question, choir after putting new seats. You can't have it both ways, injury. And you see here, Hakea leans forward and roots crack into the ground. She says, you cannot have it both ways. Marara says, I would like to interject emotion to consider seats upon the council. That's not really how it works. And you see, Gimor says, it is how it works. Host, you.

broached it. I would like to vote that after the business of the witch of Toma's agenda item, we take up the discussion about seats on the Covenant of Elders. I'd like to vote now. And you see, injury goes, uh, uh, no vote needed. We'll add it to the agenda. It's added. We added. It's the fourth item. Very well. Then we have to figure out if we're going to kill Ame. Should we vote now? And you see that, um... Oh, my first vote. Oh, my first vote. You see it's very exciting.

You see, Akaya says, Ooh, I can't wait to see which way you go. And you see that, um, In free says, all in favor of destroying Amay of Toma and removing the station of the world's heart from the covenant of elders. Raise your hand. You see, she looks at first,

You see, the injury looks at Hekeya and Grimor looks at Marara. Marara looks at Amay. She wants you dead and does not raise her hand. And you see that Hegea says, I'm not raising my hand for all that. And you see, Ame, do you raise your hand for killing yourself? It's fun. I think about, I take a moment and I think about it. And I put my hand back down from my chin.

I put it in your lap. You see, Injri and Grimor look at each other as Marara and Hakea don't raise their hands. And Injri says, all in favor of Amay remaining in the station of the world's heart, staying as a position on the Covenant of Elders. Raise your hand. And you see, Indry puts her hand up right away to keep your station. And Marara, you see that Hakea puts her hand up. Marara puts her hand up. Grimor, when Hakea goes, she goes up.

I look down on the fox, and I nod. The fox looks up and says, I haven't been talking a lot, but I'd like everyone to know that it is magic. law, that I get a vote, and he raises his paw. The fox speaks for me. Puts his hand down. And you see, injury says, our first item is settled.

The station of the world's heart remains. Ami, sister. We welcome you fully and with arms open into the coven of elders. We will take a brief recess and convene for the presentation of my retinue in the great hall of the Tower of the Half Moon. As the witches get up, Amé, the doors begin to swing open, the fox goes up at you, and you see your expectant true friends out in the entry hall of the main keep. What do you do? Grimor and Hakea are the quickest to leave.

Marara like vanishes, but Injury's still in the room with you. What do you do in this moment? I turn to Injury and I say, thank you, sister. Should you need help with anything else, please let me know. And I turn out to my friends, like, grinning with my thumbs up, like, you know, sort of huddled to my chest, but when they thumbs up being like, yee! Like a cat that ate the canary! The, as your enhanceability, which will remain on for a few minutes more,

but you sense it's it leaving the room where it was called to serve Mo. you feel on the crosshatching of that magic. Amé's parting words are a deep kindness of the kind that Amé is, through her very heart itself, always inspired to give. But also a formal and fundamental movement as the knocking over of a king on a chessboard that the domain of togetherness has offered aid to the, the domain of the independent self. The final checkmate.

Suvi under her breath, so I think only Ursula can hear is just like, man, nice is meaner than mean. And Ame, Ursula and Suv, you joined together with Ame? I do like a little presidigation of like a little sparkler and like a tinkling of a couple notes and a little sign in my hand that says, are you dead? I lived. So when you won. Is that when the ground shook?

Well, actually, the fight was just getting started as the ground was shaking. Fight? Yes, I have so many things to tell you. Shall we retire for a moment? Yes, let's get some tea and hot gas. Yes, this is the only tea I consume. So a deeply exhausted Sufi, you retire. There are some small other kitchens and side areas.

You see that injury begins to. to walk off towards the Tower of the Half Moon, which is at a triangle away from Subi's quarters in the Towers of the Crescent Moon. And you are able to get a small churine of tea and find a little private path through the courtyards and gardens to have this discussion or maybe even not outside. But you find a sort of skybridge pathway that is covered to have your discussion. You see that the Fox has a small harness that has a little little sort of wagging tin cup of cocoa underneath him for animals to wear. And actually on your way out, Neif hands you small sort of silver baskets of biscuits that have

little sort of icing stars and things on them, sweet treats and things like that and little things of cocoa. Here you are for the hospitality. Neif, can I have two, please? Oh, yes, absolutely. It gets a little samovar. She's like wearing a silver hot samovar of cocoa on her bag on her back and pours it to you and says,

directions. Just follow this pathway and take the third left and that will lead you to the great library at the base of the Tower of the Half Moon. But please take your treats. It's a little bit of a walk. It should be about 10 minutes. And then lunch

will be served in the library. Thank you. You have to toast with us, though. What are we toasting to? Me being a lot, just to being alive. Being alive. Oh, being alive. That is an uncomplicated toast.

And puts it down. The fox, under his breath, goes, being alive. That's my favorite one. Walking through the hallways here, Amit, what do you impart of the meeting? So I tell them everything, and I tell them. And then Kurt Moore was like, and then Maraer was like, like, you've all turned against me. And then injury was like, oh, you've all turned against me.

And then injury was like, You're sleeping with a man in black. Wait. Yeah. Hold on. Hold on. Marara, he's fucking the man in black. Yeah.

Oh, my God. That's so... That's so good. I know, right? Man, he really does just give his sword to everyone. I'm exhausted. Yeah. You should probably take a little nap while I'm meeting.

But... Do you feel safe? Yes. My station and I are quite safe now. Yeah, but are they going to like, is there a retribution for fucking other plan? No, I think that if it seems like if curses were to be lobbed at one another, that it just would be an inextricable tangle and everybody would be cursed. So I think we're good right now.

Yeah. But I will say the ant. Averlist is going to be giving us a presentation about the Citadel. What do you mean? And, Stevie, like, in a sniff, goes from, like, kind of tired and enjoying the tea to, like, hyper-aware. What do you mean? I don't know what the second item on the agenda is. They had an agenda.

They had an extensive agenda past my destruction, you know. So now we're getting some sort of a presentation by a wizard about the site. Do you know what Tefmet? No, no, I don't know a Tefmet. What the fuck is a Teffmet? Is that a person? A really attractive person. Just so tall with tattoos of the arms and just these eyes and, uh...

Focus up. Hmm? Hmm. Uh, yeah, I think it all went rather well. Tephmet, not name-cloaked. Just a name... This is the antivilist who's going to talk about

what they think is happening at the citadel, to convince the witches, to do something about the citadel? Perhaps. But now that I'm fully on the board, I can always be the voice of dissent should any word be raised against the citadel. Not that I'm not.

don't trust you. Is unanimity a requirement for decision making? Well, unanimity is not required for a vote. However, for the full magical strength of the coven to be employed, it requires unanimity. But also, infre owes me one as honestly, so does Mara. And you're going to cash those in for the Citadel, minutes after. getting those boons. If necessary. What's the threshold for necessary? Well, the man in black seemed like he took a very dim view of the citadel, yes, Ursula?

Yes, he believes it a knife in the heart of the world. I'm merely going to continue the tradition of Grandmother Wren and your parents in fostering the harmony between the world. I think you see Suvie gets a little colder when you mention her parents. Okay, good luck.

Let us know if you need anything. Arriving in the library, Suvi and Ursula, what you see is that there is a massive library. This one actually filled with books, star charts, books about astronomy. It's like every single book on astronomy and stars within this chamber and library. So it's rich blue parchment and sheepskin wrapped in golden-handled scrolls.

And there are astrolabes and spinning globes made of twinkling silver lit within by candlelight tinkling overhead, almost like museums having massive, like hanging exhibits over. Long halls. And you see that there are several tables in rows, these long halls. these long sort of banquet tables like you would have in a public library as a place of study, which you realize in a place that is just

for the Witch of Wind and Stars is such a strange, everything here has the feeling of it could be for so many and it is instead for just one. And there's six tables in a row that are side by side and then a seventh at the head

centered in the room under this massive swinging aurory of celestial bodies and stars with the arched ceiling having constellations painted upon it and bright braziers of witchfire burning the sort of golden witch fire

and at that table you see that several tables have been dragged in smaller sort of square almost like block tables that have sheets over them and you see that the witches are not only gathering here in high-backed

chairs. These sort of look like leather fire, like almost like drawing room chairs, has been gathered. There are five of them here, but there are also a host of cushioned Ottomans and other seating arrangements. A bunch of the predatory animals

have gathered around in this place already, some are by the fireside. It looks as though the retinues of the witches are invited to this meeting because it is a presentation of a retinue. Because one of the witches is inviting one member of their retinue, all members of all retinues are likewise extended an invitation in some acknowledgement of an evenness amongst the covene here.

Ooh, looks like you all can say for here. Suvie, I just have to say, this is so your aesthetic. I know, I cast Pinterest at ninth level. Suvie just is constantly wrestling with like, every vibe is exactly right. Why does she suck so much? Please. Oh, Ursula, you can go sit by Heinrull. Oh, that would be nice. Unless Suvi, you have need of me. Yeah, you're good.

Can I insight check? Yeah, you do an inside check. I just want a vibe check. I got a 10. I got a 13. Ercelon just got permission to go sit with his friends, his new friends at lunch. It's not romantic.

It's just, it's bros being bros, dude. That's so sweet. Heinrich looks up and says, I found meat. What? I thought they just had the cakes. Unbelievable. As all of you approach the end of the library, there are five seats.

You see that Hakea moves towards one, holding hands with grimoire, and that grimoire departs. and sits next to her. So they're on the right close to the fireplace where all of the animals are hanging out. So it's grimoire on the end closer to the fireplace than Hakea.

The middle seat is unclaimed. The seat to the far left has a crow on it. And Marara is standing off to one side, gazing on, sort of uncomfortable in this brightly lit, well, coming room with her crow on her seat, but otherwise not moving. Injury moves through this space as well towards the front. You see a figure with some instruments assembling some notes on one of the tables that is

partially covered by a sheet that is clearly covering some objects on that table. You see Tepmet. You see this wizard. you do not give me an arcana check or give me an insight check. 17. Okay. I think you're looking and you're like immediately, you know, this is not a wizard of the citadel. You know, they're wearing this like beautiful geometric single piece of fabric garment that is wrapped very like over and over again on their body.

You know, they have some scrolls on their back and they have a large bound tomb on the table. next to them. You see leaned against the back of the near the door frame is a knobbly wooden staff. That kind of looks like how your staff disguises itself, but it looks genuinely like there's no illusion there. Like it's just sort of a knobbly old wooden staff. They are reviewing something on a 17 arcanae you're like not a wizard of the Citadel. So the only other option is hedge mage. They're not a, you don't know how to describe it other than

this is not J.B. Adelaide. And I think that on a 17 arcana, that's good enough to put you in no man's land for how to taxonomize this person. And whatever emotion that would evoke in Suvi is the emotion that occurs. I don't like unknowns. So Suvee stiffens up. Have I learned Ames lesson of kindness? No, not to wizards, just to witches. is if I catch their eye,

I will hold it in a way to suggest like, yeah, another one. You do not catch their eye. Their back is to the assemble. They're like a professor going over notes at the beginning of a, looking at the blackboard away from everybody. Amet, as you approach, injury falls in alongside you, moving towards the seats.

she looks to you and says, I'm sorry that my tongue was stilled back in the conclave chamber. You offered me a kindness, and I would hate to see it unacknowledged. Thank you for the kindnesses you have paid me. And she holds your gaze here with the knowledge of the out that you provided to her. A debt is owed here, and it would be foolish not to acknowledge it.

It's a funny thing, Amé. In the discussions that I had leading up to this conclave, I observed that time is ever on the side of the world's heart. And I think here, Suvi, you hear a connection to the thing that Steele said about, And she looks and says, I remarked that if Amé were anything like her mentor, Grandma Wren, then a day would be more than enough time to effortlessly charm all of the denizens of our various retinues whose loyalty should theoretically be to us. But that is the nature of the world's heart ever charming. You do me Great kindness by saying that from I mean, you know, listen

If a pretty girl tells you that you're charming Then you got to accept it as truth You see that injury goes Hmm You see that she's awake You see that she shoots over a look at Marara And you see that Marara does not turn her masked face To behold her

But you also see that For whatever foolishness seemed to close cloak Marara in that conclave hall, you realize that injury is reproaching herself. Because apparently because you now go like, oh, injury must have told Marara, we cannot give the Witch of the World's Heart time

to make her case and start to peel people off and make them fall in love with her. And so within that, Marara's like, got it, have to act fast. And then... And panicked and went too fast. Yeah.

Oh, so good. It's true. Ooh, a ripe. Tale of bitches. Oh, right. Amé, as you're walking, with those two seats that are left, do you go to the one in the center or the one to the left? Well, first, I'd like to actually peel off very quickly and run over to Tepmet and say, oh, how are you feeling? Oh, Ami?

Yes. Oh, hello. I wasn't destroyed. Oh, thank goodness. Yeah. Okay. You see, Injri walks up behind you and says, yes, I misspoke earlier, Taffmet. There will be five witches of the cover of elders. Tafmet meets Suv's gaze. Suvi, do you, you're wearing your winter clothing. Do you have any visible emblem of the Citadel on your person? No, out of respect for Injury, who asked that I not, like, strongly signal it, but I want to try to convey it in sort of bearing, like, the way Suvie's holding her staff.

also is just a little like, oh, the witches are so like relaxed and fun and funky. And there's a just incredibly rigid human being staring daggers. Amazing. Go ahead and give me a DC-10 performance check to see if you can communicate the might of the Citadel without emblem or symbol. She should have taken a nap.

No. I do not do it. So you see, Tepmet. glides over you, just sees a woman in black holding a staff looking really sleepy and mad. Damn it. And it's like, it's like, okay? And it just is like, she's mad at me. I don't know why. But also, there's a talking bear and a shadow and that crow came out of a bunch of inky blackness. And so, you know what? We're just like, we're just going to keep on, keeping on. No, I'm part of the tapestry. But I do. I said, you're feeling.

Feeling all right? You see, Tafmet says, absolutely. Yes, feeling, um, feeling, uh, feeling, uh, feeling lovely, feeling lovely. Fantastic. And thank you so much for the lovely little thank you note. Oh, of course. I, I, uh, dreading, giving this presentation feeling under the weather.

And now I feel that I actually have the potential to do this right. So thank you. Well, I look forward to hearing what you have to say. Um, and revealing all these little surprises here on the table. Oh, and over there is, oh, my retinue includes the guardian of the Witch of the World's Heart, Ursula. Oh, good. Really, really, really good. Oh, my goodness, an honored friend.

Yes, a true honored friend. Lovely. And a Wizard of the Citadel Sky. What? Wizard of the Citadel Sky, a friend from childhood. The, uh, well, the, oh, um, and you see Tephmet looks over at Injury and says, I, the, sorry, I can't, the citadel has been invited to, and you see, Injury says, the Citadel has not been invited. The Wizard Sky is here in the retinue of the Witch of the World's Heart. Yes, Sky is here, not as a representative of the Citadel, but as my true friend. Tasmanet goes, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I cannot, I cannot give this, uh, this is, this is, I, I can't not do this. Um, if the, I cannot do this. And you see, injury goes, what are you talking about? Tafmet. I cannot give this, uh, presentation in the presence of a wizard of the, um, Citadel.

I cannot. Is it, I understand that the presentation pertains to the citadel, but is it of a sensitive nature? Highly, highly, highly. I see. You see, injury looks and says, well, Taffmet, it is not given to us to refuse the retinue of one of our sisters. You may either give the presentation or not. It's up to you. You are here under my invitation.

and I will see no rudeness extended to my sister, Amme. Tephmet looks, makes eye contact with Sufi. Unblinking. Give me intimidation check. Oh, God! Please. You are rolling disadvantage because you are exhausted. Yeah. So tired.

Natural one? It's a natural one. Oh, my God. You dead-eyed Tepmet. You dead-eye Tep met. In the moment that you dead-eyed Tep met, Neif walks up to you and says, I saw you spilling your hot cocoa all the way over here, so I got you a second cocoa.

God, thank you. This one has marshmallows and cream. Thank you. And you have cream? Is cream good? That's fine. Thank you so much. Okay.

Damn it. What was I doing? Oh, and I remember I was in a staring concert. I lost so hard. Give me an insight check. Okay. Fifteen. You see that Tepmet is on the verge of a breakdown.

Oh. Okay, just Please, please If you could, just breathe in with me Breathe out Defmet does not breathe in or out Please up Wizard, yes

Defmet looks at you and says I am Which of the world's heart Respect is given to all members of the conclave And you as a member of the Coven of Elders Have the station that I am here to be seen I do you know whom? Well, that would be a disrespectful question to ask, so I'm not going to ask.

Just go ahead and ask and we can, you know, I will filter it, considering that you are about to give a big presentation and are deeply upset by this. Now everyone has taken their seat and is just, there's an audience watching Ame talk to Tfmet. And Tepmet goes, I need a moment to your, thank you. And actually I'm okay. Thank you. And actually I am okay. So thank you.

And Tepmet runs over to a stack of notes and says, can you please take your seat so that if you be so kind, you do what you wish to do. It is your conclave. And TepMet begins to go through scrawled notes and begins to, like opens a hand and incinerates a couple of the notes very briefly. And has like what was a heavy stack of notes is now a small set. set of like three index cards.

Suvi's going to step behind the fourth chair, the one, yeah, that's closest to Marara, and try to give a little, like, beckoning look to Amme, but not to compel, just a... Yes. I walk over to the chair as gracefully as I can. I give a nod to Suvi, and I sit. In the chair. And then as you sit, I'm going to just lean into your ear, so it's sort of just a thing you're hearing.

Like, I'm so happy to leave if that will give you an opportunity to hear the full thought process of deftment. They'll hold their tongue around. It's true. And I, you know that I will relay any important information to you, as would Ursula. Mm-hmm. And Fox, I don't think, would be able to not tell you everything. So if you'd like to go get a little bit of a nap, I think perhaps it would, you know, be even more productive. I'll take good notes for you.

Okay. If you want, you can make a little gesture right now to dismiss me and have some little status. Oh. Ooh. Yeah. Yes. All right. Thank you so much.

for joining me, Wizard Sky. Your services are not required for this meeting. Injury turns to you, Amé, and says, have you felt compelled to dismiss a member of your retinue by my guest? Oh, no, not at all. Sky has important studies

to attend to an continuation of her work yesterday. And I'll give a little nod to Injury and say, the work of the Arkmage apprentice is never done. And I want to say that. Just loud enough because we weren't really throwing a title out there like that.

I was just trying to get in Tephmet's head a little more. Okay, give me one more intimidate disadvantage. I know. Ten. Tephmet turns around to look at you. You also see that Tepmet has taken a moment as the witches confer and has cast Eagle's splendor on themselves. You see that Tephmet casts an enhanceability turns around.

Makes eye content with you as you are going to go. Anyone who wants to can give me an insight check here. Yeah, I'll keep rolling. I'm having a great time. I'm going to look up from my meal. Yeah. How did you meet? 15 for Ursula. 11.

18. You see a look of, I think you all read it differently. Suvie, you see a look of anger, of like, controlled anger. Ursula, on a 15, you see a look of fear. And, Ahme, on an 18, you see a look of hurt, of pain. Suvi departs for, are you heading to the keep of the world's heart or the Tower of the Crescent Moon? Oh, God. Crescent Moon.

Ursulant's going to stand up as you leave. You want me to come with you? You're good. Okay. Thanks. And I just want to give a little, like, head nod to Heinerl. I tried to help him pull himself together. Heinruh looks at you and tosses a couple sausage links to you.

There is a moment of like profound gratitude as if he goes to grab them out of the air. Oh no. Actually, can I grab? I'm not going to come with you, but I am. Ursulaan approaches you. The sausage is very good. Thank you. Also, I wanted to ask, my sister gave me a bridal from the horse, Holliman.

that I rode here on. Okay. I was wondering if you might take a look at it after you've rested. No, there's time for this now. Okay, done. Anything else? No.

Is there anything in your hand, like food? Yeah, so much. I'm gonna grab some piece of what you got to. Just, oh. Take that and walk out. Incredible. So instead of going back to the Tower of the Crescent Moon, I'm going to head to the keep of the,

umme's keep. I can go find the bridle. Okay, great. Are you going to nap first on getting there, or are you... No. Gonna get the bridle first? I get that bridle first. I don't think I remember to, like, scuff my little, like, ritual sigil.

So I'm like, wow, that bad boy's still up. Let me get this done, scuff it and take a nap. Great. Sky leaves, Tefmet turns, injury raises a hand and says... Seated in the central sort of high-back chair. Sisters of the Covenant of Elders, I present to you a member of my retinue, the wizard Tefmet, the Antibbolist. Tefmet comes to us with tidings of the world of Rumora. Insight that only a wizard can glean on the comings and goings of the citadel.

Tefmet, if you would be so kind. With a deep breath, Tefmet goes to deliver a right. Hearst speech, and you can see easily on their face that they believe this is the most important speech they have ever made. Witches of the Coven of Elders. I am Tefmet of the Library of Nurara. I have come here to the Palace of the Witch of Wind and Stars at the top of our world to tell you that a window we have only just perceived is already about to shut.

The opportunity to address the threat represented by the Citadel is closing rapidly even in the moment of my speaking. I come to you to give a portrait of a changing land. It has been a little over 200 years. since the first coining of the term lingua arcana, and some 200 since the creation of the white desert and the citadel of the Kemsaritan Empire. Within these short centuries,

has the magical understanding of the world previous to this been disrupted to a level that cannot be overstated? millennia of witches bridging the gap between the spirit and the real, and the progeny of the spirit world, existing in our own, monsters, sorcerers, shape-changers, various gifts from the interplay of the world of spirits and our own. Of my library, do I come to speak of the greater binding, the understanding that the magical nature of our world is the interplay between the spirit and the real, neither existing over the other in hierarchy, but in their interplay, communication, cooperation, learning,

is the possibility of magic made real. The imbalance, yes, was created some 200 and some odd years ago by the creation of the lingua arcana. the first time that a bridge was capable of being made between the real and the spirit purely through understanding without exchange, the understanding that a language exists to bind the spirit and the real together under the auspice of a single mortal's will. The creation of wizardry has seen immense and incredible changes to the world of Umura, ones that as a wizard I am proud of, proud that the understanding of mortal minds seeks to bring more light to the understanding of magic, the nature of spirits and of mortals and of all of the instances in between. between. I see here, Tefmet shakes for a second as they talk about bringing light and look to Marara in the corner. And Tefmet says, it is no secret to the witches gathered here that I, by my very nature, exist in the shadow of the citadel.

Wizardry's greatest strengths are in learning. And the citadel, as its first project, has created a philosophy and political order of secrecy, the control and limiting of information within the glass tower of the Erian. As such, my library and those who dwell within it and all other libraries like it are anathema. My greatest hope when discovered by Wizards of the Citadel is to be considered a hedge mage and dismissed. I do not walk the halls of the citadel.

I do not stroll its courts. And it is our most important project to remain hidden from the eyes of the Saraz Imperium. That being said, in plumbing magic and seeking to learn the secrets of the greater binding, to bring to light those things that might make a better world, a world where the cleverness of the human spirit might see our greatest problem solved. It is impossible now to avoid the citadel. And though I do not tread its halls,

I know well the bottoms of its feet. A first sheet is taken off. And you see a mangled chunk of what looks like metallic fencing. This fencing was taken from a compound in Ganspreet within the realms of the Kamsara's and empire. The fence was broken by a spirit creature, a spirit creature that did not have its origins, we believe, within the world of spirits, but was true born in the mortal world of Umura. Its parentage brought here and born not as a monster, but as something like a true spirit. We believe a massive armored beast of the land, something sort of like a turtle or a tortoise, a horned spirit.

In escaping, we believe it had returned to the world of spirits already, but had been born in our world of spirit by what means we do not know. But we know that when we arrived, the Citadel had already abandoned this location. Some of their equipment left in the paddocks of whatever livestock they were breeding in this place. Tefmet removes a second sheet. Under that sheet is a cracked, massive, sandy wind-eroded yellow stone, a glyph broken apart into its composite pieces now. This stone served as the keystone of a gate of sun and moon from an ancient imperial house of Gouthmi.

Cracked in half, it is our understanding that what broke this was not an act of abjuration as the gate had been dormant for quite some time. Instead, judging on what the wind has eroded from this stone, we believe that there were ruins placed here and the stone cracked at a failed conjuration, a conjuration of a great one, a true spirit. The magic was mapped back to Zhao Court within the citadel, a conjuration experiment. to bring a great spirit against its will to the mortal world in a place that once lived under the might of sorcerer kings. Tefmet goes to some of their belongings

and takes several missives. This information has been corroborated by missives intercepted from imperial couriers. Supplies, magical organization, though the wizards were protected from our scrying, their servants, non-magical, and their contributions to these large imperial projects had been mapped. Putting these pieces together, we believe that the Citadel has ventured much farther into the world of spirits than the near spirit, deeper. We believe that amongst some of these belongings and missives, there were packs created, explorers' packs with rations that had been enchanted,

against aging for centuries, as though the explorers were planning to go to areas of Umura, where time might pass by orders of centuries in their travel and that their food and rations not spoil. These explorers, I think it is safe to say, were not headed to any material location within the world of Umura. In terms of mapping this project, we have only the edges of a great shape, the citadel's ability to abjure and prevent scrying are incredibly powerful, at least to our means, which is why we come to you now. In terms of how close the citadel is to whatever this project is, we cannot say with certainty that there is unified purpose here. But across these missives, certain connections are made, shared ingredients that do not seem to build to common purpose across the installations, compounds,

projects, digs, archaeological sites that we have seen throughout the empire. In our uncertainty are the commonalities found. The ingredients that we cannot place within these rituals are the common ones. In terms of their point of interest, it seems to be great spirits. which brings us to our final conclusion about our timeline. The only equipment we have been able to liberate from the might of the citadel before one of these rituals had occurred. Not cleaning up the refuse in the garbage, not finding the failures, but actually interceding to find what would be put to use,

are a series of magical artifacts that I cannot speak to the purpose of. But the enchantments on them are so potent across the schools of conjuration and abjuration that I believe them powerful enough to affect even the greatest of honored friends. What purpose they could have, I do not know, but I have brought them here to communicate the direness of the message I now give. The final sheet comes off. On a table, some 12 feet wide, you see enormous glass. The last time you saw them, you were standing on them in the Derek of Port Talon. That was Lou Wilson as Ursulon, Erica Ishii, as Amay, Abria Ayangar, as Suvi, and Brennan Lee Mulligan, as everyone and everything else.

World's Beyond Number is edited, designed, and scored by Taylor Moore at Fortunate Horse with additional sound designed from Michael Gelfy Studios. For even more like this, join us on our Patreon. We'll see you there.