The sky bathed the dry landscape in its red glow, and clouds raced past as if every hour spent here was the equivalent of a day in the real world. The thought caused Renau’s chest to constrict. This was going to be like one of the stories of Simion, where the hero returned to find he had been gone for years, his lovers and friends long dead.

The Hedron he held was dull now, and his other hand was still being grasped uncomfortably hard by Serena.

"This is Portia; we’re still here," the witch stammered.

"There’s no water; where’s the ocean?" Renau said, realizing with a shudder that the vast dusty plane that he was staring at was actually the southern ocean of Parthanea.

"Check to see if the gateway will reappear," Serena suggested.

Renau held the Hedron up without having the faintest idea of how it worked. The shape flared into life once more, and the gateway materialized in front of them. This time the tower was missing, and only the flagstones were there.

"If you want to go back, I understand. I can find my way out," Serena began.

Renau squeezed her hand. "All my life I have played this adventure on the stage; now that I’m finally here, there’s no way I could turn back."

They walked hand in hand towards the city of Portia, and Renau felt as though he had stepped back in time. The city was only a fraction of the size he recalled, with one large, domed structure that he didn’t recognize and a collection of small buildings arranged around it. The wind whipped through the half-built structures, as if the builders had suddenly disappeared midway through the construction.

"This is where the Faelen have been all this time?" Serena said, the sadness in her voice resonating in the desolate landscape.

In some of the stories Reanu knew, the land of the Faelen was more similar to the dark chaos of the abyssal plane; in others, it was a glorious paradise the Faelen built with their magic to separate themselves from the other races. In no book or play he had read was it an insipid copy, devoid of light or life.

"The name certainly fits," Renau murmured, thinking of the weak echoes of his voice that returned to him when he used to shout through the empty hallways of his home.

"The origins of the name are lost to us, as are most things," said a deep voice behind them.

The tall creature was clearly a Faelen and seemed young of body but at the same time so intensely weary of spirit that Renau felt the urge to rush forward and support him lest he fall. He wore fine, if threadbare, clothes, and his hand rested on a carved walking stick.

"My name is Serena, and this is Renau. We’ve traveled from the mortal realm looking for answers. We are not here to harm you."

"Thank you for your reassuring words." The corners of the stranger's lips curled up in amusement, and Renau felt as though, even with the walking stick, fighting him would be like a child with a wooden sword attacking a knight in full armor. "My name is Yroh; if you come with me, I will provide such answers as I can."

Serena and Renau fell in behind Yroh and matched his stately pace as he led them into the city. As they walked, he told them about life in the Echo and the hardships the Faelen had endured for thousands of years. He was unable to answer their questions about the creation of the echo, but when he was asked why they didn’t just leave, he showed them the windows he could create into the mortal realm, and they gazed out mystified into the dark quayside of Portia. It was midday there now, and Renau reached desperately to feel the living sun on his skin, but when he tried to pass through, he was stopped by an invisible barrier.

"We do not know why the windows do not work for us; there has only been one instance of somebody circumventing the barrier, and we still don’t quite know how she did it." A smile played on Faelen's lips, and Renau got the distinct impression that he had a dry sense of humor to match his own.

Serena continued an unending flow of questions, and their host did his best to answer what he could. Renau could see that the effort was wearing on him, and he gently pointed this out to the witch.

"I appreciate your concern, and I must admit that this effort has weakened me. Happily, we have reached our destination."

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They stood before the large domed building they had seen when they arrived in the Echo. In the mortal realm, this building no longer existed, but Renau felt as though he were looking at a style of architecture that encapsulated the Portia that he knew so well in the mortal realm. Did that mean that this place was an Echo of the past?

A movement caught his eye and he saw a woman appear on a balcony above them. She was startlingly beautiful, her Faelen features imperious and strong, glowing with some gentle inner light, her grey gown floated out around her.

"Renau, I would ask you to wait here. Serena, please go up to the lady. Be gentle with her as she is easily confused."

Serena nodded to Renau and he reluctantly let go of her hand. He wasnt concerned for her, she was possible the most capable person he had ever met.

"We can wait over here," Yroh said and they moved to a nearby bench where Yroh sat down with a grimace.

"Excuse me, Yroh, but are you sick? We have medicine and more where we come from, perhaps I could help you?" Renau inquired.

Yroh laughed softly. "You are most kind and courteous. There is only one cure for what ails me and you might yet help me to obtain it, but I'll say no more about that when the time is right. Tell me, what do you think of the Faelen Echo?"

"It's not what I expected," Renau admitted.

"Tell me what mortals say of us."

"Some will deny you exist; others say you are only a fairy tale to scare young children. Sailors where I’m from will say that storms come from here, taking ships as payment for crossing the waves. In some plays, it’s a prison made to hold the Faelen Queen," he concluded, glancing up to the balcony.

"This is the lie that wounds me the most, as you will soon see," Yroh said.

Serena walked slowly down the steps of the building as if she were in a dream, her gaze fixed on a point several feet in front of her. Renau scrambled up and ran to steady her. "Serena, are you okay?"

In the time he had known Serena, he had never seen her rattled. She had faced down demons and fought against arcanists with courage and resolve, but now she struggled to speak.

"I..." she began, her mouth opening and closing several times.

"Renau, please go in; the Lady will not be able to stay for long. I will care for your friend," Yroh said, taking Serena by the arm.

Serena nodded at these words and gave Renau a gentle push. "You should go; just go."

Renau slowly walked up the steps of the building, his footsteps echoing. The interior was one large circular space with gigantic columns of marble supporting the huge dome overhead, and in the center sat the Faelen woman he had seen on the balcony.

"Welcome traveler, sit," the Lady said. Her voice was resonant, and the very fabric of the Echo seemed to thrum along with her words.

Renau sat cross-legged before her, and he took in her crown of silver blue and her beauty, and without being able to control himself, he began to weep.

"Don’t cry, don’t cry, no no no," the Lady soothed, gazing at him with pity in her eyes.

But the tears fell freely because he knew who she was. He knew the lies that had been told about her—lies that he had propagated time and time again to rapturous applause. He’d called her a monster, mocked her, and feared her.

"I’m sorry," was all he managed to say through the tears.

"I don’t blame you. How were you to know?" she said.

Renau drew a shuddering breath and wiped his eyes. "Who trapped you here? Why can’t you leave?"

The Lady appeared not to hear him; she just continued to make soothing cooing noises, and then she began to sing.

Her voice was etherial and moved through the air in a strange way. Images danced in the light, showing a crowd of people of all races and backgrounds. Witches and arcanists in costumes more suited to stage plays than the real world huddled over books as scribes made furious notes. He saw tall, proud Faelen walking among them, some deep in discussion with priests. Overseeing everything was the Lady, sitting on a high throne.

Then the image blurred, and the queen screamed so loudly that Renau clamped his hands to his ears and screwed his eyes shut. He thought the tortured scream would never end, but when it did fade, her song was changed, and the sky in her images was the red sky of the echo, and the Faelen were alone. They cried and wailed, pulled at their hair, waved their fists, and used their magic to pull open windows in the air that they could not pass through.

"I don’t understand. What happened to you?"

The Faelen Queen replied in the hushed tones of a frightened child, with a near-constant stream of whispering. "We were betrayed. For hundreds of years, we tried everything to break free, but then we lost hope and fought amongst ourselves, and so much was lost. They were watching us in the fates, seeing more than ever before because they shared when they had never shared before. I knew I had to hide, but they all had to hide with me, and then I had to hide my plans even from myself, and now I can’t see the end any more, but I saw it once so clearly. If I can’t see it now, how do I know it was real? What have I done?"

Renau tried to make sense of the words and jumped in fright when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"It is time to go," Yroh said.

When Renau looked around, the Lady was gone.

"I didn’t know; no one knew," Renau explained, feeling the creeping sensation of guilt threaten to overwhelm him.

"Do you want to help us?" Yroh asked, holding Renau’s gaze as if to judge him.

"I’ll do anything," Renau replied, knowing that he had never been as serious about anything in his life.

"I know you are used to playing the main part, but in this you only have a small but vital part to play."

"Anything," Renau repeated.

"There is a person who exists outside of fate. He is important, you must help us find him."

A memory stirred in the back of Renau's mind. The small elf, Malan sitting by a campfire on Mir after their brief fight, turning to each of them and revealing their secrets.

"It's Konrad, the one your looking for is Konrad," Renau breathed.