Ellion's House
- The fantastic foursome waits for a long time in the room (6.1). Tilja gets homesick and wishes she had powers to figure out how things were at Woodbourne (6.2).
- Meena dreams that she was a tree (6.5), while the water boys dream about—guess what?—water (6.3-6.4).
- Tilja doesn't have any of these dreams and feels left out (6.9). She says that the reason they're having these funny dreams is because there isn't any magic in the Valley (apart from what Meena and Co. do themselves), so they're not used to feeling it (6.10). But there's lots of magic in the Empire, and as magic-makers, Meena, Tahl, and Alnor can feel it in the air (6.10).
- Finally someone comes to see them (6.15). She is Lananeth, wife to Ellion, who is Steward of the estate on the behalf of Lord Kzuva (6.16). Alnor tells her why they came to the Empire (admittedly, his story is a censored version, talking about needing the magician to renew the snows in the north, and he doesn't talk about Faheel specifically or the Woodbourne girls and the forest sickness) (6.18).
- After they're all brought food, Lananeth says that they're all in big danger. Apparently she might have had to kill the travelers, but was persuaded not to because it was clear they were circumspect about their journey (6.23-24). Their knowledge about magic is something the Emperor needs, and, if the group is found out, they'll be taken to Talagh and tortured (6.24).
- Lananeth confesses that the new Emperor wants to conquer the Valley and took Salata's husband with him when he drafted an army; she doesn't want anyone talking about it and reminding the Emperor again that he meant to conquer the Valley, which means he'd conscript more men and supplies (6.28). Moreover, the group can't go trotting around the Empire without way-leaves (think hall-passes, but for a country), and only Lananeth can give them to our heroes while her hubby's away (6.26). So the group needs a cover story if they want to run around the Empire (6.29).
- It turns out our heroes can actually help Lananeth, too. Everyone in the Empire owes everything—even their lives—to the Emperor, and a big census is done when the new ruler comes to the throne (6.34).
- People live and die by his grace, so dying without permission is treason and your heirs have to pay a big debt (6.35-36). Most people go to Talagh ASAP to get the Emperor's permission to die, bringing a kid with them to sell into slavery as payment if they die while traveling (6.36). Lananeth had two old, dear servants that planned on just going to the city where every old person dies—Goloroth—at the end of their lives and getting permission to die, which many old folks do (6.38). But they died before they could do so (the wife committed suicide), which violates Imperial law (6.38). In order to not get in trouble when the census comes their way (Lananeth helped cover it up), the Steward and his family need people to pose as the old couple and buy death permits for them (6.40). Meena and Alnor, of course, are perfect for the job.
- Lananeth teaches them all about the culture of the Empire so no one will seem out of place (6.50). Meena and Alnor will be called Qualifa and Qualif Jaddo on their journey to Talagh (6.51)—and must appear as fourteenth-grade subjects of the Emperor, which comes with a specific costume for each party involved (6.52). Tilja's not crazy about all the rules that come with being in the Empire (6.53).
- Lananeth examines Axtrig (the spoon) and Meena uses it to tell her hostess's future (6.61). The fortune shows that Lananeth is really worried about something—she's unnerved that Meena and Co. were able to bring a magic spoon into her warded room (6.63). Magic's dangerous in the Empire because it's something the Emperor can't really control, so he restricts who can practice it—either you serve the Emperor or practice in secret (6.65). The most powerful magicians are the twenty Watchers, who keep an eye on the whole Empire (6.65). Lananeth can do a bit of magic herself, but nothing like what the group has brought in via Axtrig (6.66).
- If the group is looking for a really powerful magician, they must know his name (6.66). Meena says Faheel aloud, and Axtrig moves when she speaks the name (6.72). A crash comes from outside the window (6.72)—Axtrig still knows Faheel's name and is drawn to Faheel, the man who gave the peach-tree to the group's ancestors (6.83). She's been woken up by the magic of the Empire, which allows her to move about when Faheel's name is mentioned (6.86).
- Lananeth goes into a trance and is surprised at the power Axtrig brought (6.97). She says that Faheel must be the magician's true name, which is at the heart of his power (6.101). These days, magicians are in danger, so no true name can be used in public—her real name isn't even Lananeth—but once upon a time magicians could freely use their true names (6.101).
- Axtrig points southeast toward Talagh, which is where the group wants to look for Faheel (since that's where he was nineteen generations ago) (6.104). If Faheel's still got his groove after so long, Lananeth says he must hold Time itself in his hand (6.106). Lananeth has protective wards on this room so that she can do magic in it and not be detected by the Emperor (6.109)—but Axtrig was so powerful that it smashed those wards apart (6.109).
- Lananeth tells the group how to get to Talagh. They head to Songisu, where they've got to join up with a convoy to fend off the bandits (6.122). Tilja falls asleep and dreams about an island far out at sea, when she hears a voice telling her that everything depends on her reaching the island (6.123). She sees a glowing cloud above the island that looks like a unicorn (6.123)—what a sight.