Humans find few things more comforting than the cage they've grown fond of.

— Excerpt from Meditations, by the Red Emperor

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The first thing Primrose noticed upon entering the Inner Sanctum was the Oracle's presence lighting up the interior in a soft, pure white glow. Mursa Shang shielded his eyes and hesitated, though the rest of their group did not. Primrose wondered if it was because he was the only one that had not met the Oracle and did not know what to expect.

The second thing she noticed — Molam was nowhere to be seen. The Priestesses had made them wait outside after Molam entered, yet they did not see Molam leave. Though parts of the Inner Sanctum were still obscured in shadows, Primrose did not think there were any other exits than the one they came in from.

Where was Molam?

"Mursa Shang." The Oracle's voice. Just as Primrose remembered it. Measured. Monotone. Breathless, yet with rigor. "You seem anxious."

And unlike their footsteps, echoless.

"I have… heard stories." As though in a trance, the Mursa knelt down. Tears streamed down his face, before he put forth his arms onto the ground and kowtowed to the Oracle. "For so long, Oracle. My people have dreamed of this. I have dreamed of this."

"I see that Diyah's Will still echoes."

"Yes," Mursa Shang did not look up. "In my dreams. In my sleep. In every moment of my waking days ever since I inherited my Title. Mursa Diyah's Will drives me even now. Please: Tell me how my people can break DuskWing's curse and return to Mur."

The Oracle did not speak, merely looked down on Mursa Khan's prostrated form. Primrose felt that none of their gathered group wanted to interrupt this critical moment for the Mursa, and resolved to silently walk around the Inner Sanctum's interior.

"Have you ever wondered why I refused to see any of the Mursa since Mur became lost?"

Primrose noticed she had walked a distance from the Inner Sanctum's entrance, and the Oracle's voice still seemed unchanged. The Oracle's voice seemed to always sound just near enough to be clear, yet far enough that she did not seem to be too close. More importantly, she breathed in the faint scent of leymint and sandalwood through the darkness — the same combination of incense she had purposefully given Molam. So he had come through here. Primrose followed it slowly, walking silently around the pillars in the darkness.

"We… have always wondered…" Mursa Shang spoke slowly, as though still in disbelief that he was here. "Mursa Diyah's Will tells us you know how we can return to Mur. We simply do not understand why you refuse to show us the way."

"I avoided this conversation for centuries to spare you from hearing that which would only bring you greater despair." Though the Oracle had not moved from her position facing the group, Primrose froze at feeling an intense sensation of being watched from the twin holes in the Oracle's dragon mask. The Oracle continued speaking as though nothing had transpired. "Yet, an old friend convinced me that some things are not for me to decide. Perhaps even Diyah knew I would eventually capitulate; I see no other reason for him to bind his heirs with such a Will to pester me so. And so today I will enlighten you on the nature of DuskWing's curse over Mur."

Mursa Shang's head pressed onto the ground. "That is all I — that is all my people ask for."

The heavy gaze lifted off Primrose before the Oracle spoke again. "When Mursa Diyah joined the Red Emperor as one of the Nine Lords to defeat DuskWing, she was also the one who landed the final blow. When the remaining Lords divided up DuskWing's remains for trophies, Mursa Diyah claimed DuskWing's black wings and brought them back to Mur. This is the source of DuskWing's curse, and why your ancestral home is uninhabitable today."

Primrose saw Mursa Shang look up as though he had a question, perhaps one she shared. Was the solution to go into Mur and remove DuskWing's remains? But the Mursa paused, and immediately put his head down again, causing Primrose to wonder if he also felt the Oracle's heavy gaze. She breathed in, searching for leymint and sandalwood, continuing to look. Where had Molam gone?

"You would be right to think that the solution is to remove the source of the curse. But have you ever wondered why the curse has only expanded over the years? It is because DuskWing's mate, IceMourne, has been collecting DuskWing's divided remains over the years and stores the pieces next to each other in Mur." The Oracle's dragon mask leered. "Though IceMourne flies each Winter as it is now her Domain, searching for DuskWing's final remains are her other reason."

Despite her resolve to follow her nose, Primrose stared at the Oracle, whose unmoving mask seemed oblivious to the collective reaction. Even the Whale of ZhiXia seemed surprised. The scholars of the Fallen Star Pavilion had been charged by their sponsor cities to predict IceMourne's path each year. To understand IceMourne's goal would have a profound impact on understanding where the dragon would go — the head scholar had once told Primrose that they suspected IceMourne was searching for something but it had always been unclear.

"Just…to confirm I understand, Oracle." Mursa Shang spoke up as Primrose approached… something behind the Oracle's dais. A faint glimmer caught her attention in the air, but it vanished as soon as she took another step and she could not glimpse it through the Inner Sanctum's darkness. "You are telling me that if my people attempt to move DuskWing's remains out of Mur, IceMourne would treat it as disturbing DuskWing's grave?"

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"If you can even approach. You may have inherited multiple generations of aura but you will need more than that to enter Mur as it is now." The Oracle answered, then her voice raised in volume just slightly. "Primrose. You seem inquisitively distracted."

Primrose blinked. She found herself standing behind the group. Impossible. She had just been behind the Oracle. Some of the others turned around to look at her, curious about the Oracle's sudden digression. Master Ji's face seemed inscrutable, and Nettie peered curiously at her. GloomSire still leaned against a stone pillar with his arms crossed, glancing off into the darkness, and Mursa Shang still prostrated in front of the Oracle. The twin holes within the Oracle's mask bore down on her from beyond the gathered group and Primrose could only think of one question: How had the Oracle moved her back here in just a moment?

"…I apologize." Primrose smiled wanly. The faint scent of leymint and sandalwood could still be found if she searched for it, but a tense lump in her throat cautioned her against pressing against the Oracle's patience. She swallowed the lump before she continued. "My thoughts seem to have wandered."

"Return to your garden." The Oracle's echoless voice commanded without inflection. "I will summon you when it is time for us to speak again."

Primrose bit her lip. Something about the dismissal brought out a desire to reject the order, but Primrose understood that it was not her place to do so. After another glance beyond the Oracle's dais in a vain search for what she had seen, she bowed as deeply as she could and turned on her heel to exit the Inner Sanctum.

Before the door closed behind her, Primrose heard the Oracle continue with Mursa Shang as normal.

"I will tell you what you can do to remove DuskWing's remains from Mur. But not all answers lead to solutions."

***

Primrose found Shurra relaxing outside of Sanctuary. With a start, Primrose realized she had not noticed Shurra's absence within the Inner Sanctum earlier and began berating herself for her lack of awareness. The Oracle's presence within Sanctuary was hardly a good excuse for being blind to something as simple as this — blind spots were the exact reason why she had been unable to see through Lyka's duplicity.

"Well?" the Northern Warrior asked. "What next?"

Primrose shook her head. "The Oracle is still speaking to the others."

"She spoke to the others first?" Shurra frowned. "I would have thought you would be first, or at least after the Whale."

"We all understand saving the best for last." Primrose smiled at Shurra, deciding not to mention her skulking around the Inner Sanctum. "I was told to wait for her summons, which implies she won't see me today. Would you like to join me when it is our turn? I remember you have yet to meet the Oracle in person, though it was at her guidance which led me to you."

Shurra shook her head, and Primrose immediately regretted the offer. Shurra must have had a reason to stay outside of the Inner Sanctum when they entered; why did she think Shurra would do differently?

"Or…" casting her thoughts around quickly, Primrose added, "Perhaps you'd rather see the sights of ZhiXia."

A nod from Shurra. "That I do. I've heard stories around the HeartHomes of Sanctuary's Festival of the Hero. This would be a good chance to participate in the martial bout and apply the guidance I've received on our way here." Shurra pulled an arm across her chest, stretching as she looked down at Primrose with a sheepish look. "Spending some time with two Titled Ones certainly made me feel… inadequate. I think it's time I measure myself against an equal."

Primrose nodded. "I can certainly understand that. I've never participated, but from what I've seen, the Great Sage's Mirror truly summons a worthy fighter."

"You should participate," Shurra insisted. "It would be a good test of your current skill."

"Oh no, not for me," Primrose waved off the thought. "I prefer not letting on exactly what I can do in front of a crowd. But I do hope you enjoy yourself. If I can, I'll try to watch your bout."

Shurra seemed deep in thought, then nodded. "I can understand that. And thank you; I'm certainly looking forward to it."

Smiling at Shurra's tacit understanding, Primrose added, "I assume you'll be spending the next two weeks preparing for the Festival, but where? I will be visiting a few old acquaintances, but as I don't know when the Oracle will summon me, we should be able to find each other when I can let you know of the Oracle's new directive."

"I'll spend some time with the caravan, helping them move the World Tree's elderwood into Sanctuary. The Whale told me it would be a useful exercise for building my physical reinforcement."

"Ah, so I'll find you with the caravan." Primrose nodded. That Master Ji's suggested exercise happened to fulfill Sanctuary's own needs was not lost on her, but Primrose saw no need to bring it up if Shurra had no complaints. "Good, it'll be easy to find. I'll leave a message with Jyuni for you if our paths don't cross."

"I will ask Jyuni every evening," Shurra promised.

"Then we'll part ways for now." Primrose turned to leave Sanctuary, but Shurra spoke up again with a tinge of worry.

"Primrose."

She turned around to see the Northern Warrior with furrowed brows. "Yes?"

Shurra paused, then asked in a voice of forced normalcy to her ears, "I noticed Molam isn't with you. Is he still waiting to speak to the Oracle?"

Hesitation. Primrose wondered if she should tell Shurra that she honestly didn't know. That Molam had gone into the Inner Sanctum ahead of them, and when they had entered she had seen no sight of him, only recognizing the faint whiffs of his having passed through. Even more worryingly for Primrose: the Oracle had said nothing about Molam when they entered the Inner Sanctum.

Could she even admit to Shurra that their leader had vanished?

"I think the Oracle is yet to be done with him," she answered eventually. Truthfully, perhaps.

Shurra's ice-blue eyes pondered her answer, then she nodded. "It must be difficult, marked by the Oracle."

"I am sure we will see him when the time is right."

***

All cities with a population large enough to segregate social circles eventually begin trafficking in vices, and ZhiXia City was no exception. Adorned with red lanterns, the pleasure district could be found near the westernmost edge of the city. It was said that the founding Proprietress of HuaLang Chamber chose the area so that the morning Sun would not rudely disturb the Chamber's patrons from a night of self-indulgent hedonism.

By far the largest establishment in the district, HuaLang Chamber's four-story complex had been designed by an architect with an eye for graceful yet subtle elegance. With its refined colors and delicate motifs, HuaLang Chamber's architecture stood out in a way that did not announce itself to the passerby's eyes the way its neighboring establishments did.

From far away, Primrose could see the Chamber's Petals emerging onto the balconies to light and set the lanterns. Even the red paper lanterns decorating the Chamber's balconies seemed reminiscent of the current trend for wealthy women to wear a cluster of fresh flower petals from their earlobes. Or perhaps, Primrose mused, she wondered if those women simply mimicked the style of HuaLang Chamber's Flowers to rekindle the flames in their husbands' eyes.

A Petal greeted her as Primrose approached. Though the Petal was still young, the two pink petals entwined into the sides of the girl's hair marked her as one that could help the Chamber receive guests, but was not to be touched.

"Good evening, miss." The Petal bowed, practiced enough to look elegant to the untrained eye, but Primrose noticed the stiffness in her neck. "Welcome to HuaLang Chamber, where we fulfill Earthly Wants and Heavenly Desires. Did you have an appointment?"

Primrose looked up at HuaLang Chamber's large doorplate and sighed internally before lowering her hood, exposing her orange-red hair entwined with blue satem flowers. "Sometimes, a Flower returns to sow the seeds of tomorrow."

The Petal straightened up almost too quickly, her wide brown eyes looking Primrose up and down. Then, as though suddenly remembering her training, the Petal produced a golden token with the words Heavenly Peace written on it, depositing the token into Primrose's hand. The Petal then bowed her head and stepped to the side, gesturing for Primrose to enter. "You will find Madam Proprietress on the floor of Heavenly Peace entertaining patrons. Please wait outside the Central Room until she is done."

Primrose stepped into HuaLang Chamber, soaking in the perfumed air.

The Petal bowed as Primrose walked past. "Welcome home."