[ He watches her swirl her glass, and for a second gets a flash of deja vu. Fikiri, holding a glass of wine, using foreign magic to manipulate the liquid into the shape of a hand. At the time that kind of magic had shocked him. Now, so many months into his stay in Thorne, that display would be a parlor trick compared to the things he's seen them do here. ]

I arrived just before our invitations to the dual ceremonies in Nocwich. [ He tips his head toward her. ] Before the attacks.

[ On her and the other two representatives. And as for the other question, he nods. ]

The gates were destroyed, the keys lost. [ There's a small pool of condensation where his mug had sat on the desk, and he draws his finger trough it in a line. ] And the ones who held the knowledge were annihilated.

[ It's only Fikiri and himself left. ]