Chapter 16: Baz

As roots rip through Aldryn’s assembly hall, Regulators converge on Baz. Nisha commands vines and ivy to hinder them and hostile students, dragging Baz toward the only sanctuary he can enter—Obscura Hall. Drutten spots Baz, but Nisha’s intervention and the panicked crowd let them slip away.

At the hall’s entrance, Kai reaches Baz and steadies him, while Professor Selandyn ushers them inside with Vera and a wounded Luaguan student, Rusli. Baz accelerates the elevator and seals them behind Obscura’s wards. In the commons, Kai explains Jae split off to warn Eclipse-born in Threnody and contact Baz’s father at the lighthouse. Baz fears Regulators will soon reach the lighthouse, especially after Freyia talked.

They suspect Artem orchestrated the Reanimator’s escape; Virgil was seen with him, rattling Baz’s trust. Kai then admits the revenants at Dovermere were pulled from Freyia’s nightmares by his own misstep; he dispelled most but not all. Selandyn warns that if Memorists probe minds, Baz and Kai’s Collapse will doom them, and insists they must flee.

Discussion turns to “the door.” Selandyn argues they must bring Emory home to counter claims she is the Shadow reborn. Producing Clover’s journal, she outlines his theory: the Tides’ and Shadow’s disappearance shut the world-doors, unbalancing magic and causing sickness—erratic tides, dwindling eclipses, and failing Eclipse-born. A prophecy commands a Tidecaller to open the door, seek the gods, and restore the center.

Plans crystallize: Baz will open the Dovermere door and go with Kai; Selandyn will remain to support foreign Eclipse students trapped on campus. Nisha vows to gather Eclipse-born and later escape via the secret door, with Vera suggesting the Veiled Atlas as refuge. Rusli reveals powerful illusion magic—mimicking Drutten—to covertly round up students and settle scores with the Regulators.

Strengthened by Selandyn’s resolve, Baz accepts Clover’s journal and his role. He and Kai prepare to leave for Dovermere to pursue the door and retrieve Emory, while Nisha and Rusli stay behind to shield and organize Eclipse-born. Baz frames the moment as the true beginning of their story.