It was a clear day in the greatest city in the world. The grassy hills of the University Fjord were mostly free of snow, and thankfully the wind wasn't strong enough to knock Yana on her butt. After all, being knocked on her butt would sour this most exalted of days. For the first time in her life, she was an important person. A critically important person. She clutched to her breast an unsealed message, signed and verified by the oculomancers, summoning Yana to the Seven Witches Cafe to meet with none other than the infamous Morning Mist.

The Sister World dominated the sky, a dry desert planet looming over Spire Erika to the west. With the sky as clear and blue as it was, Yana knew, the witches would be in hiding. The sunlight reflected off the stacked rings of greenhouses that hugged the base of Spire Lyn to the south, a bright green flash in Yana's vision. A grim reminder that their food, their very existence, was completely dependent on the grace of the witches.

And now they think I am important, she thought.

Perhaps they would summon her to become an oculomancer? That would not be too bad. She had already given birth to a few sons. If she became pregnant with a daughter, she reasoned, she could become an oculomancer with no risk to the child. Her husband wouldn't even be angry. He had his collection of mistresses, and he would not likely care that she poisoned her body with the parasite. The daughter would be born in perfect health, and perhaps she would be the matron of an entire dynasty of oculomancers. Maybe even some witches!

Along the pale cobblestone road she went, between colorful wooden buildings with ornate facades. The wealthy elites that haunted these streets wore dark clothes, practical and devoid of ostentatiousness. The greatest city in the world was a harsh city, after all. The sky itself was hostile and hungry. The perfect place to build a University, in Yana's estimation. Those witches are clever, if nothing else.

The Seven Witches Cafe was ancient but also quaint. Constructed from stone, the two-story building was drab olive with a bright red door. Yana stalked between the empty tables under the second-floor patio and pulled on the vertical bar. It didn't budge. She tried pushing, and that worked, which was just terrible design. A betrayal. A scandal!

The witch was waiting for her on the second floor of the cafe, in a small alcove painted with images of birds, one side open to the air. She was people-watching, and there was a steaming latte on her table. There was a white wooden box by her feet, painted with a Purple Dragon in the center of each face.

The opposite wall was decorated with seven full-sized paintings of witches. They had dark robes and pointed hats, with the exception of the witch in the very center of the seven, who was wearing a silvery robe with a hood that hid her eyes.

"Do you know their names?" the witch asked without looking.

"From left to right," Yana said. "Renna the Scientist. Lyn the Historian. Fiona of the Morning Mist. The Elder Saint. Nydia the Midwife. Sophia the Engineer. Diana, Guardian of the Sea."

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The witch removed her hat, revealing a shock of dark blue hair. "That is correct. I am the third in that list, Fiona of the Morning Mist. Your name is Yana, is that correct?"

"Yana Justicia Sophia!" Yana said. "Dean of the University of White Chasm. I am at your service!"

"Please have a seat Yana," Fiona said.

Yana sat at the chair across from the witch, and for the first time she noticed that the other woman's face was oddly covered in shining blue scales. The painting on the wall did not feature this particular detail, nor had it been mentioned in any of the histories.

"From your name, and from the color of your hair, anyone on the street could guess that you are descended from Sophia the Engineer. I happen to be able to see your bloodline, so I can confirm this fact. Yana, do you know the significance of this table? This balcony? This cafe?"

Yana's mind reeled. When she looked into those glowing purple eyes, she came to a decision. "No, I do not. This is just some random cafe in White Chasm."

Fiona shrugged. "It was in this very cafe, in this very alcove where we are sitting, where I conspired with Renna. I wrote a number on a piece of paper, and told her that I needed that quantity of spirit-ether to kill the Charlatan King and save the world."

"Do you often come back to this alcove?" Yana asked.

"No," Fiona replied. "This is the first time since that day. You see, I am a superstitious woman. I came here out of instinct. On that day, centuries ago, my meeting with Renna changed the world. Now, I hope to change the world again, and by coming here I hope to channel a small amount of the luck I had that day. Do you understand?"

Yana lost all sense of ambition, all hope for the future. She wanted nothing more than to help this superstitious woman reach her own ambitions. "I will do as you command," Yana finally managed to say. "I am yours. Mind, body, and soul, I am yours."

Fiona kicked the wooden box. Yana heard a faint glassy clank.

"You will take this crate back to White Chasm," Fiona said.

"What's in the box?"

"I will not insult your intelligence," Fiona replied. "You will know what to do when you open the box. That is not important. In a few weeks, or in a few months, two young men will arrive at White Chasm and enroll as students. You will know who they are when they arrive, and you will do nothing."

"As you say," Yana said. "Is there anything else I should know about these young men?"

"Follow the local laws," Fiona said. "Understand that you are protected, completely protected by myself. Relax and do not be afraid. Furthermore, I have a request."

The witch slid two sealed tubes across the table. Yana reached forward hesitantly. She broke the first tube and slipped the rolled document out of its sheath. Her eyes were immediately drawn to a single name: Claire Aden.

"This," Yana rasped. "This is an enrollment form. Fiona of the Morning Mist, this is extremely unusual. In the entire history of my institution, no Heritor has ever applied as a student."

"I am happy that you appreciate the scale of the problem," Fiona said.

Yana suppressed her doubts, her ambition, her sense of self. Mind, body, and soul, she had said. And she was a woman of her word. "Fiona, please inform me if my understanding is incorrect. I am to take this box to the University, and when I open it I will know what to do. Two young men will arrive and enroll at the University, I will know who they are and I will do nothing. Finally, these two Heritors will be allowed to enroll at the University and nobody will think anything is amiss."

"I trust you will not fail," Fiona said. "You are dismissed."

The witch reached for her steaming latte, but Yana had already turned to leave. She was beginning to climb down the flight of stairs to the first floor when she heard Fiona curse: "Damn, that's still too hot!"