So I made long lists of human islands to reach out to, then wrote polite letters to all of them. I found Alyra staring down an eagle ten times her size and cautiously managed to persuade her to leave the larger bird alone. I finally gave Creon his astrolabe and was rewarded with an expression remarkably similar to that of a young boy just handed his very first toolkit; it was the only thing that could bring a smile to my face that day. The fae Beyla had sent out to take a look at the Mother’s fleet did not return. I worked even harder trying not to think about what might have happened to them.
