“Births are recorded, right?”
Annarion nodded.
“In the High Halls?”
“All children must be brought to the Lake. Yes, all such infants are recorded. Even if they live in the West March, they must make the pilgrimage to the High Halls when their young are born. There aren’t as many Barrani births—we might be able to find people who are alive but not listed.” Annarion turned toward Nightshade in his almost deathly repose.
“Is Serralyn there?”
“She’s there. Not here, but I think Sedarias may lift the prohibition.”
Kaylin shook her head. “I don’t want her here because it might not be safe to get here. We might need any hints Starrante can give.” Shadow. Shadow as power, as an elemental force. Shadow as underpinning of a portal path that was more flexible than the paths that existed even in the Academia. Would Nightshade know? Would he understand? “I’m not a summoner, and even if I were, I’m not sure I’d try summoning Shadow.”
Silence. It had the quality of a cohort argument; she’d become accustomed to that kind of silence—one that was filled with words and emotions that didn’t include her. Sometimes she was grateful for it.
“Arbiter Starrante believes if anyone could summon Shadow, it would be you.”
The silence this time had a different weight.
27
“Can he explain that?”
“He says instinct, but Serralyn doesn’t believe him. Arbiter Starrante is thorough, she says. He doesn’tlikeguesswork. When he makes guesses, they become the foundation of research, and research will either confirm that suspicion or kill it.
“But in the absence of time and research, he is willing to say that he doesn’t make this suggestion because you’re Chosen, but because you’re mortal and nameless. Mortals were designed with different intentions, in his opinion.
“Shadow is not quantified as an element; it’s possible that, when the original garden was created, Shadow was not a force recognized by the Ancients. It is possible that it was not a force that existed; that it emerged later, or perhaps concurrent with, the birth of the Ancients. For obvious reasons, almost nothing is known about that.
“But if fire burns, if water drowns, both provide succor in other ways, and both are necessary to life as we know it. It is possible that Shadow is, if you will, the chaotic factor, the change factor, that arisesfromlife itself. If that is the case, it implies that it is necessary for life, just as fire, air, or water are, because all living things change.
“There is very little research done—as you are well aware—aboutthat possibility. But there is some, and there are hints of its existence in magical theory and research papers that were written during the rise, and height, ofRavellonbefore its fall. None of those papers reference Shadow in any fashion, but they reference new forms of magic, new forms of power. And, of course, multiple worlds.
“He has been focused now on the magic of transformation, where he feels hints of Shadow might be found. Certainly the fall ofRavelloncaused the fall of many worlds—but its fall was accelerated, and by the time the danger was understood and credible, there was very little time to research and take notes. There was time to flee, time to build fortifications—such as the Towers, although those rose only after all hope was lost.
“It is Arbiter Starrante’s belief, and Arbiter Androsse concurs, that research of that nature, or papers, or even desperately written warnings, were trapped withinRavellon. They did not emerge to join the library’s extensive archive. Whether they could not leave or could not be added due to the precautions taken by the Ancients, we cannot say; we are aware that there are some few Arcanists and sorcerers who could prevent their work from becoming part of the archive.
“Before you ask—because he’s certain you will—investigation into the cause ofRavellon’s fall has been done in the library, but the library was inaccessible for a long period because the Academia was submerged to make way for the Towers. The records pored over in those investigations—anything researched while the city stood and shone as a beacon—are records all three of the Arbiters know relatively well.
“Starrante is familiar with research into transformation. That research was not considered part ofRavellon’s fall; it is a separate field of interest. Early transformation research did not involve sentient beings; much of it involved materials for building or crafting. The highest of spires in the city itself were not created with quarried stone and grown wood but magicallytransformed goods. Short-term transformation was apparently trivial—for a value of trivial that confounds most of the Arcanists of the present day who have recently begun to visit the library. But permanent transformation was, where it could be achieved, reliable and persistent.
“Where sentient beings were concerned, however, it was far less reliable—and far more researched. We do not have records of the completion of that research but have retained some of the initial research itself. In this merging and blending of disparate spells and powers, some research was done in the green; most was conducted within the city itself.
“Arbiter Starrante believes that it is the living transformation research that might have the strongest bearing on the question of Shadow as an elemental, separate force.”
“Was there a lot about moving between planes?”
“He says there was, although this was considered an entirely separate school of research; in some cases, it was weaponized research. It arose from the study of portals—but the portals being studied were constructed by the Ancients for their own convenience.”
“So transformation and multiple planes didn’t cross over.”
Annarion grimaced. “Starrante is apparently whirring like a machine because you asked that question. Serralyn had to remind him she was there because he spit a web and almost vanished into the archives.”
“Why? Was it a smart question? I don’t usually ask those, if you believe my former teachers.”
“I think it’s a combination of both the question and the context. I’d say the answer is a definite maybe. But... we sort of know that because of Terrano. The most obvious example is his eyes—he can alter those here. None of us enjoy it, and while most of us can do it, it gives us wicked headaches. But he’s just a lot more flexible with form and shape when he needs to be. There are places he can walk that require changes—buthe walks those planes the way he walks this one when he doesn’t want to be seen: not quite there, not quite here.”
Kaylin exhaled. “One more question for Serralyn to pass on. Did the transformation research involve reaching into the Outlands? The potentia?”