"I understand the concern," Elder Corwin said patiently, though a flicker of defensiveness entered his tone. "But some friendships do not require constant correspondence to remain genuine, young man. The bonds forged in difficult training, in shared hardship, tend to persist regardless of distance or silence. I have no reason to believe Elder Williams's character has shifted fundamentally in the years since our last exchange.""People change," Sablen said quietly, echoing the same concern Breck had raised regarding Alfred's trustworthiness only days before. "Fifteen years is a long time for someone's loyalties to shift, especially in a realm as consumed by conflict as ours has become.""They can," Elder Corwin conceded. "I will not pretend otherwise. But I would remind all of you, once more, that the same uncertainty applied to my brother and myself, and your trust in us, however cautiously extended, proved well-founded. I am asking for similar patience now, understanding fully that t

"I watched you fight today," Master Adrian said slowly, choosing his words with obvious care. "I watched you face Kestor Ironveil, a warrior who has broken shield walls that cost armies hundreds of lives to overcome, and I watched you defeat him through sheer adaptive skill, combining your clovers in ways that suggested genuine understanding rather than simple brute application. I watched you hold restraint through an entire conversation with a sorceress mocking everything you hold dear, right up until the moment she struck down someone you love, and even then, I watched you ultimately choose mercy over vengeance, however narrowly that choice arrived."He paused, studying Thorne with renewed, careful attention."I have trained soldiers for decades, Thorne Valtor. I have seen countless young men and women arrive at my doorstep carrying raw talent, raw courage, raw determination, only to crumble entirely the moment genuine hardship tested whether that foundation ran deep enough to withs

"Decades ago," Elder Corwin said, "before I knew him, the Blackwater Clan suffered an attempted infiltration by agents of the Hand, seeking to steal certain ancient techniques the clan guards jealously. Elder Williams's own mentor, the clan's leader at that time, was murdered in the attempt, along with several other senior members. Elder Williams himself, then still a young practitioner, was the one who ultimately repelled the infiltration, at tremendous personal cost. I do not know the full details — he has never spoken of it extensively, even with me, during the years of our friendship. But I know enough to say, with confidence, that whatever else might be uncertain about the man, his hatred for the Hand of the Nameless One runs deep and genuine."A heavy silence followed this revelation, the weight of it settling over the group."That changes my calculation considerably," Cael Dross admitted. "A man with a personal vendetta against the exact organization hunting Thorne isn't someon

He dressed quickly and made his way down to the main room, where he found Elder Corwin already awake, seated at the long wooden table with a fresh scroll and quill before him, clearly in the process of composing the very message they'd discussed the previous night."You're up early," Elder Corwin observed, glancing up as Thorne entered."I had a strange dream," Thorne said, settling into the chair across from him, the words spilling out before he'd fully decided how to frame them. "I think I met him. Elder Williams. In the dream, I mean."Elder Corwin's quill paused mid-stroke, his expression shifting from mild curiosity to something far more alert. "Describe him to me," he said. "Precisely, if you can manage it."Thorne did his best, recounting the towering black trees, the silvery mist, the man's weathered face and striking pale amber eyes, his dark robes embroidered with unfamiliar patterns, the deep, resonant quality of his voice. As he spoke, Elder Corwin's expression grew increa

"None of us love it," Master Adrian said, his gruff voice carrying unexpected gentleness. "But desperate circumstances rarely offer comfortable solutions, young master. We proceed with the best option available, and we adapt when that option proves insufficient. That has been the entire shape of this journey since you first arrived on this island, has it not?"Thorne managed a tired, rueful smile at that. "Fair point."Elder Corwin returned his attention to the scroll, his quill moving once more, and the room fell into companionable quiet as he worked, the only sounds the scratch of quill against parchment and the occasional soft rustle of Shade's feathers as she shifted on her perch."There is one more matter I want to raise," Elder Corwin said, finally setting the quill down and looking up at the gathered group, "before I seal this message and send it on its way. A matter concerning what happens between now and whenever Elder Williams arrives, should he choose to come at all.""What