He kept his eyes cast down toward the blue-veined floor. Hot sunlight streamed through the transparent ceiling, magnified by convex window panels. Fountains in the corners boiled water upward into steam; the room was as humid as a jungle. Dio’sh took three steps forward and stopped, slowly finding the courage to raise his lobed head. “My Mage-Imperator.”

The soft-skinned ruler reclined on an ellipsoidal chair that supported his bulk. Shimmering garments were draped around the swollen body. His eyes were half-closed, as if in a heavy-lidded doze. The Mage-Imperator stirred, then spoke in a purring voice. “I am pleased to meet you in person, Rememberer Dio’sh. I have heard of your ordeal on Crenna—and experienced it directly through my son, the Designate.”

The long ropelike braid hanging down around the Mage-Imperator’s heavy body lay draped across his stomach and coiled next to his hips. It twitched like a restless pet anaconda. His eyes studied the rememberer as if he were a succulent meal.

“Yes, Liege. Crenna was … very difficult for me. Rememberer Vao’sh is helping me to compile the true and permanent story of the blindness plague, so that your son the Crenna Designate and all the other Ildiran victims will be remembered and honored in our Saga of Seven Suns.”

The leader’s face remained placid, even bored. “Every Ildiran born lives his life hoping to achieve something significant enough to warrant inclusion in our Saga. Even though those people on Crenna died of a terrible sickness, they will now be revered forever.”

Bowing again, Dio’sh said, “That is my sincerest hope, Liege.” Then he lifted the documents cradled in his hands. “It is regarding the Saga of Seven Suns that I have requested to speak with you.”

He held the documents forward, but the Mage-Imperator did not lift a stubby hand. “Tell me what you have found.” His braid twitched again, and his voice carried a strong note of wariness. “I sense that it has upset you to your very heart.”

Dio’sh clutched the documents to his chest and spoke without embellishment. “After our rescue from Crenna, I came back to Mijistra and began to study the records of other epidemics in our history. In the deepest Palace archives, I searched through many preserved documents of apocrypha, learning hidden fragments of our history.”

“The apocrypha are not a legitimate part of the Saga,” the Mage-Imperator cautioned.

“True, but they are still eyewitness accounts and pieces of relevant information, not to be disregarded. I was searching for background material about the Lost Times, when accepted history tells us that all members of the rememberer kith perished in the firefever.”

“Yes.” The Mage-Imperator’s pasty face drooped into a frown, yet his sadness seemed false. “That was a terrible time.”