"Yes, in the beginning, they threw Summoned in their jails. That threat is always hanging over our heads, but they have amped up recently. The Queen is unstable, it's led everyone to be paranoid. Looking for people to blame."

Istredd says all of this very calmly and logically, as if he too isn't in this strange beautiful prison. Maybe because he has accepted the situation and he's focusing on what he can get out of it. It also isn't new. He was raised in a place where he was taken as a child and forced into severe and sometimes fatal training. Thorne hasn't murdered anyone yet, so they're still technically doing better than his own teachers.

"They've been arresting Summoned. Hard to say if they know what they're looking for, or if it's a simple fear tactic." Istredd would say it's a combination. They probably know the Summoned have secrets, and this is a way to see what they can glean from applying pressure. "They don't like people getting jobs of their own, they certainly wouldn't let us go to other cities. We were allowed to Nott to help put down the fires."

So while they were useful, but then they had to go back. It is possible to get jobs and even live in other locations close to the castle, but always with the understanding they know where people are. And they will come for them, wherever that is. "I am used to being able to teleport anywhere I want, adjusting to being trapped hasn't gone smoothly."