"To begin with, I'd like to ask for your permission to include Legan in our discussion." Arturyn nodded at Legan, who was listening quietly, not showing any surprise at the two of them suddenly switching to a different language. "Maybe he or Kimoja mentioned to you that we've been talking about them becoming your guardians for the next few years? The guardians of your fifteen-year-old form, I mean."

"Yes, he told me. And the two of them have already figured out that I'm not quite what I appear to be...." Jechrin looked at Legan thoughtfully for a moment, then turned back to Arturyn. "Are you willing to vouch for their trustworthiness, then?"

"I am. I've known the two of them for years. Legan was my teacher when I attended Zeiryn, and we've had a good relationship ever since then. And Kimoja is one of my official healers, so I can quite honestly say that I trust her with my life."

Jechrin raised an eyebrow. "Do you trust them enough to tell them about your mark?"

"I do. Just...." Arturyn hesitated briefly, then gave a wry smile. "Since you can probably sense my emotions anyway, I'll admit that I feel a little reluctant. Not that I think they'll use the information against me or that they'll react badly...it's actually the opposite. Legan has always been rather fascinated by Relian magic and culture but has had a hard time studying it because Myrikar is so closed off from the rest of the world. I've always been a little afraid of what kind of scholarly examinations he might try to put me through if I told him...."

"If you're worried about what he'll do to you, what do you think is going to happen to me...?" Jechrin sighed. "All right," he went on, switching from Myrik to English. "If you regard them that highly, then I'm willing to trust them. Let's continue in this language, then, shall we? None of the guards seem to understand it."

"Oh? You can tell?" Arturyn asked, also speaking English now. "Your language extraction magic must be more advanced than mine. I can only tell if a language is currently available for me to extract, not what languages a specific person knows."

"I'm an actual Relian. And a Shadow, on top of that. Isn't it only natural that I can use Relian magic better than a Silmarith can...?"

"What's a Shadow?" Legan asked curiously. He seemed rather happy that he could understand what they were saying now. "Is that one of the Relian clans? Is it related to how you can disconnect from your body like that? And wait...Arturyn's language extraction is actually a type of Relian magic? So Relians have the ability to give their magic to people of other species? Oh...is the magic contract that you formed with Erin something like that?"

"You see what I mean? This is how he is..." Arturyn said, watching Legan with a long-suffering look. "If we drop a few more hints, he'll probably figure the whole thing out on his own, but in the interests of time, I'll give him a quick summary."

He started briefly explaining about Relian marks, including his own, and what Erin had experienced when she'd been given hers. Legan listened with eager attention in the beginning, clearly fascinated by the unfamiliar magic, but his expression gradually became serious as he learned more details about Jechrin's true identity and his current situation.

"So that's how it was..." he muttered when Arturyn had finished. He tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop for a minute, seemingly deep in thought. Then he looked at Jechrin. "So Erin started seeing visions of you after her accident due to some kind of magic entanglement? When the accident occurred, she must have released a large amount of magic power due to the shock...that's quite common in trauma situations, especially for children who haven't had any magic training yet.

"And you were transmitting your magic from the world your real body is trapped in to this world in order to control this puppet body. The transmission path must have gone through the human world...or close enough to make contact with Erin's magic at that moment. And because the two of you have such high magic compatibility...."

"That's right. It formed a connection." Jechrin had leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes again while Arturyn was speaking, but now he opened them and turned to look at Legan. "It was loose at first—not strong enough for me to notice or for her to feel the effects of the magic in the Dark Plane. But after she touched my sigil, the connection became much stronger."

Legan nodded. "I see.... No wonder Kirchel wasn't getting anywhere with researching Erin's medications. They were never the problem in the first place. But honestly...who would have guessed that she'd accidentally formed a magic entanglement with someone trapped in a dead world? Or that it would turn out to be the exiled king of Myrikar, of all people...?" He looked at Arturyn. "I understand now why you became so protective of him all of a sudden."

"Yes. Not only does he have the potential to help us reach some kind of resolution to our ongoing conflicts with Myrikar, but Erin and I could both be in serious trouble if he were to be discovered and captured by the current Relian government. Or a group like Noquana." Arturyn frowned at Jechrin. "Now that I think about it...is that why you made sure that I was aware you knew about my mark?"

Jechrin shrugged. "I'd really rather not resort to cheap tactics like threats or blackmail. But I'm in a very precarious situation right now. You can't blame me for using the few cards I have. And you didn't know who I was at the time. I didn't want to be tossed aside as merely the half-blooded son of a Relian spy."

"Well, that's understandable," Arturyn said with a sigh. "I never intended to just toss you aside...but I'll admit that I've been treating you with more care because of what you know. If I hadn't seen the Silver marks that you and Erin have, I probably would have agreed to hand you over to Thaylen after we'd cleared you of any involvement in Teral's crimes. He's been awfully persistent the past couple of days."

"How touching for him to be so concerned about me," Jechrin said drily. "After spending most of the past fifteen years ignoring my existence...."

"I think he's concerned about you interfering in his succession to the throne. It's obvious that you won't be able to rally enough support among the Anerith nobles to actually become king, but if some of Thaylen's political enemies get hold of you, they could help you at least put up enough of a fight to give him some serious headaches. I was reasonably sure I could convince you to formally renounce your claim, especially once I learned that you're not really the Prince of Aner anyway. But my reassurances haven't been enough to calm him down."

"People who desire power themselves have a hard time understanding that there could be anyone who would willingly give it up. As the emperor, you're going to want to keep a close eye on Aner for the next few years. Thaylen should be competent enough as a ruler, but he's a little too ambitious for his own good. And in spite of the well-mannered mask he likes to wear, he has a tendency to be reckless. He is Lerand's older brother, after all."

Arturyn nodded. "I was feeling a bit uneasy about him, and if you're going to caution me about him as well.... Fortunately, the fact that Myrikar has been interfering in the Anerith government will give me an excuse to stay involved with this country for however long it takes to investigate all of Teral's potential connections, which might be several years. Hopefully Thaylen will settle down a bit by the time that's over. You're willing to formally renounce any legal claim to the throne, then?"

"Yes. I could have made good use of the position if I'd managed to get it without anyone finding out that I'm a Relian, but it's more trouble than it's worth to me now." Jechrin paused. "But I do want to ask for something in exchange."

Arturyn raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What's that?"

"The horns. Teral's and Galeth's horns. Or at least Teral's, if you can't get me both. I realize that Relian horns aren't easy to come by, so Silmarith researchers might be loath to give them up." Jechrin gave Legan a sideways glance. "It will be more useful for you to give them to me, though. And safer. It's possible to extract some of a Relian's memories from their horn, similar to how Erin saw some of my memories when I gave her a mark. It's not a technique that Elarith mages would be able to replicate, but if another Relian gets hold of them...."

"I see," Arturyn said, frowning. "Yes, that could be a problem...in various ways.... I'm not sure about Galeth's, but I should be able to get Teral's horn for you, at least. Since you're his next of kin—at least on paper—you should have the right to decide what happens to his remains."

"Good." Jechrin nodded. "Then I have no problem with signing an official statement of abdication. Or with moving to Katan Jyrat. I'm definitely not interested in living under Thaylen's heel. If Celora and Meilas wanted me to stay with them, that would be one thing, but...." He paused, and there was a rather somber look in his eyes. Erin wondered if he was thinking about Meilas' visit the night before. Then he shook his head. "No. It's better for everyone if I leave Aner."

Arturyn nodded. "I think so, too. I can't promise life in Katan Jyrat will be entirely comfortable for you—there will still be plenty of people who are prejudiced against you because of your Relian blood or your connection to Teral. But it's probably the safest place for you to go right now. Not many people will be willing to risk harming someone who's under the protection of both the emperor and the head of Zeiryn." He glanced at Legan. "You haven't changed your mind about taking him in, have you?"

"Of course not!" Legan said with a grin. "I'm even more enthusiastic about it than I was before. A real expert on Myrikar and Relian magic! I can learn so much from him!"

Arturyn sighed. "Control that insatiable curiosity of yours a little, will you...?"

"Well...I don't really mind...as long as you can wait until my magic reserves have finished recovering," Jechrin said with a small smile. "I appreciate that at least one Silmarith is still interested in learning about Relian culture. Myrikar and Silmar were on good terms once, you know? It would be nice if we could go back to those times...."

An odd silence followed those words.

Erin didn't see anything wrong with what Jechrin had said, but Legan and Arturyn were both giving him puzzled looks.

"I suppose that must be true...since the king of Myrikar gave the first emperor this special Silver mark as a gift when the empire was founded," Arturyn said slowly. "But Silmar and Myrikar have been at war off and on for more than a thousand years now. You'd be lucky to find any mention of their relations before that in even the oldest historical records. But the way you just said that...it almost sounds like you remember those times...."

Jechrin raised an eyebrow. "What? Just because this puppet is fifteen years old, did you assume I'd only been trapped in the Dark Plane for fifteen years?"

"Are you serious?" Erin stared at him, horrified. "You've been stuck in that awful place even longer than that?" Then she paused, thinking through what Arturyn had just said. "Wait...if Myrikar and Silmar haven't been at peace for more than a thousand years.... How old are you?!"

"It's a little hard to say...." Jechrin tilted his head a little to the side, apparently considering the question. "I've spent most of my time in the Dark Plane in a state of magical hibernation. That was the only way to survive there for so long. Does the time I spent asleep count, since I wasn't technically aging then...? Well, either way, I can give you an easy frame of reference." He looked at Arturyn. "The first emperor of Silmar was given a specially designed Silver mark by the king of Myrikar, correct?"

Arturyn frowned. "Correct...."

"Right. That was me."

Arturyn stared at him blankly. "What?"

"The king of Myrikar who gave the first emperor of Silmar a Silver mark," Jechrin repeated. "That was me."