Elach blinked in surprise. He had never seen either of these people before in his life. “What are you talking about? I don’t know either of you.”

“Let me get a look at his eyes.” The more normal looking woman said, walking up to Elach and taking his face in her hands.

“Personal space.” Elach muttered, but she ignored him. She pushed his right eyelid out of the way with her fingers, studied his eye for a few seconds, then repeated the process with his other eye. “What are you looking for?”

“You should know the answer already.” She said bluntly, grabbing Elach’s lower jaw and forcing his mouth open. What were his teeth supposed to tell her? “He’s got all the signs.”

Elach closed his eyes. Apparently they'd told her everything she needed to know.

“Interesting. So he was telling the truth.” The manifestation moved to join the woman Elach assumed was her apprentice. “Tell us the whole truth, please. I refuse to vouch for someone who hides secrets from me.”

“Important secrets, she means.” The normal looking woman added.

“Yes, yes. I don’t care what you do in your personal life. Just that it doesn’t endanger myself or any of my apprentices.” The manifestation said, crossing their hands in front of their dress at the knees. It was a little unsettling seeing someone’s arms drop so low on their body, even if they weren’t actually attached to said body. “Are you even aware of what’s going on right now?”

“I’m getting questioned for showing up with too much power in my system?” Elach said.

“Well, yes, but I mean in the broader sense. Let me rephrase my question; do you know why people from all over are gathering here?”

“You said something about an equinox, right? So, that?” Elach guessed.

“So you know nothing of why we’re gathered here. Fascinating.” The manifestation said. “Can you stand?”

Elach stretched out his legs and tentatively put weight on them. When they didn’t crumple underneath him, he pushed himself up and out of the chair.

“Before we go, there are a few things you need to know. If you are going to be my apprentice, even if for just this short time until you find your master, you need to at least know our names. And us yours.” The manifestation said, offering Elach a hand as he stumbled on the slightly slick floors. “My name is Revelation, but you may call me Revel. And this is Sechen, my only current apprentice. It hasn’t been all that long since I manifested, which is the reason I have but a single apprentice at the moment.”

“By all that long, she means around a century at this point.” Sechen said, and Revel shrugged. A bizarre motion for someone without shoulders.

“Wisps do not gain power the same way as you might. Manifesting a form such as this,” Revel motioned at themselves with pride, “takes time and Issi.”

“What did you look like when you first manifested?” Elach asked.

“I was a wolf with my front legs detached from my body and this,” Revel tapped the ring that covered her eyes, “around my neck. Why do you ask?”

“Just curious. I chaperoned teenagers through their wisp bonding trials for six years, so this stuff hits close to home. Learning that I probably did more harm than good wasn’t fun.” Elach said, thinking back on Hollow. They’d looked far more like Revel than Gilt, or even Flow before they died. “I’m Elach, by the way. And thanks for saving me.”

“They wouldn’t have killed you. Hugil and Arvay are good people, no matter what your first impression might say, and Brynn doesn’t care about anything but Glasrime. They were just scared of you screwing up their patron’s equinox celebrations.” Sechen said. “So try not to hold too much of a grudge, alright?”

“They’re Freshetfall vassals, right?” Elach asked, and Sechen shot him a look of disbelief as Revel laughed. “What did I say?”

“Freshetfall is bound to the eternals, Elach.” Revel said. “All the living cities are. They’re a manifestation of the people who lived there, so they are bound by the same rules as they are. Free manifestations like myself are not subject to the same rules, since the eternals hold no claim over Issi itself.”

They don’t anymore, Elach thought to himself as he thought back to Sentence’s story. There had to have been a god of Issi at one point, which meant there also had to be an eternal of Issi.

“So who are they bonded to?”

“Glasrime, the same one Brynn’s obsessed with.” Sechen said, motioning at the glass walls around them. Frost crept in from the edges, creating a frame of white around the clear material. “Freshetfall tunneled up into here from below, but Glasrime’s lived here in the glass glacier for longer than anyone can remember. No one’s sure if they made the glacier, or if they’re the manifestation of the thing, but everyone’s gonna tell you their theory is the right one. Unless you hear it from Glasrime themselves, don’t believe anyone. Not even their apprentices.”

“Noted. But why’s that important?” Elach asked.

“Because our Issi is locked to our origins.” Revel said. “If someone found out exactly how Glasrime manifested, they could attempt to recreate that process with stolen Issi. And if they control someone who claims to be the rightful manifestation of this glacier, a long and bloody war would begin.”

“Like those people fighting over the Diamondthorn Groves near Resthollow.” Sechen added.

“Exactly like that.” Revel said, placing a hand on Elach’s shoulder from ahead of him. He was going to have to get used to this. “And, Elach? Please do not tell anyone that you were a corruptor for so long. What state of being you were in will not matter to those who have experienced what it is like to be forced into a bond with someone who cares not for their well being.”

“I made sure nobody forced a bond on their wisps.” Elach said in defiance, but he understood what Revel was saying. “But that’s probably what everyone would say if they got cornered, isn’t it?”

“One of the few defences we constantly see.” Revel sighed. “We will listen to your tales once today’s preparations have ended. We still have to register our presence with Glasrime for the equinox.”

“So what’s the deal with the equinox, anyways? I know the solstice is when the primal springs pump out the most Issi, but what’s special about the equinox?” Elach asked.

“Ah, yes, the solstice. When wisps are anesthetized by the primal springs’ Issi surges. When your people take advantage of their weakness and inability to resist to form tainted bonds.” Revel spat. “We will have to see to your bond, as well. Sechen will tell you that it is not a pleasant undertaking, and the benefits are minimal, but that is my stipulation for vouching for you.”

“I’m pretty sure my bond isn’t tainted.” Elach said, and Flow chirped agreement in his mind.

“All bonds are tainted.” Revel said. “We will renegotiate the terms of your bond with your wisp, then go from there. Oh, and if your wisp has been consumed? Death will be the last of your worries.”

Elach gulped down a lump that had formed in his throat. “Threat received.”

“Not a threat.” Sechen said. “I’ve seen Revel deal with some people before. People that consumed their wisps after the fact.”

“Wait. You can do that?” Elach shook his head at the thought of consuming Flow for a tiny little bit more power right now. He snarled as he thought of his brother, who had done exactly that. But he’d consumed his wisp during the bonding process; it must take a real monster to do that to their partner. “Disgusting.”

“Yes, it is.” Revel sighed. “And it is not only cruel, but shortsighted and harmful to the practitioner who consumes their wisp. There are not as many manifestations like myself among those outside of the eternals’ influence; since your people require wisps to manipulate Issi, those of us who gather and process enough Issi to form a mind of our own are terrifyingly scarce.”

“Yeah. I only ever saw three of them while I was a chaperone.” Elach said, and Revel stopped dead. He almost ran into her, but her arm held him at bay,

Revel turned to him, her light blazing. “Three? You witnessed three wisps manifest a form of their own? You’re certain?

Elach nodded.

“That’s incredible! What kind of wisps were they?” Revel asked, grasping Elach by both shoulders and digging their fingers into his flesh.

“One spatial, one mortal, and one seraphic.” Elach said. “At least that’s what I think they were.”

“Revel...” Sechen said, tapping on the woman’s neck and motioning at the small crowd around them.

“Ah.” Revel said. “We’ll talk more about this later. Let’s go.”

The halls of the glacier were carved much like the underground tunnels Elach had initially found himself in; long, rectangular passageways that split off into mostly homes, but with a few restaurants, inns, or boutiques along the way. They were in a residential area, and all the residents were Issi practitioners.

There was not a single person, man, woman, child, or otherwise that did not have the telltale spark of Issi inside of them. Which made no sense to Elach; people couldn’t use Issi until they bonded with their wisp. And the earliest you could attempt to bond a wisp was at sixteen years old. He could understand if the people here let their children bond with wisps earlier in life, maybe even helped them along, but what about the toddlers? The newborns? How could someone justify having a child knowing that they would be ripped away by the eternals?

“You alright?” Sechen asked, falling back from Revel’s side to walk next to Elach. “You look like you’ve got a headache.”

“Just a lot of new stuff to take in.” Elach said with a shake of his head. “How do these kids have wisps, anyways?”

“Places like this have pseudo-wisp gardens of their own. Families come here to give birth, then instantly bond the newborn with an extremely weak wisp while the baby’s still connected to their mother.” Sechen explained. “People like you, if you’re telling the truth, are beyond rare around here. There might be, what, ten or so in this entire glacier? And those were special requests from people in Glasrime’s inner circle.”

“Ten isn’t that rare.” Elach pointed out. “The way you acted, it seemed like there might be only one or two in the entire world.”

“Hmm. You’re right.” Sechen said. “Maybe I’m remembering it wrong. Revel, how rare are people like Elach?”

“People who’ve used existential bleed?” Revel asked.

“No, people who aren’t born into our world.” Sechen said. “And I know you were listening in on us. Don’t try to cover that up with misleading questions.”

“Don’t blame me. You two left me out of the conversation in the first place.” Revel huffed. “People who aren’t born into our world… I honestly don’t know. A dozen at most? You’re certain that Elach wasn’t born into our world, and he hasn’t simply had his memories scrambled by his old master?”

“That might be true.” Sechen said after a pause to think. “He said his master gave him the existential bleed, but artificial bleed hasn’t been harvested in centuries. How long does it stay good for?”

Revel shrugged. “Again, I don’t know. But probably not that long; the last time I saw existential bleed was when a glass tube of it sold for more coin than I’ve seen in my entire life.”