42. Sorin: An Unraveling

In the dim lock shop, Arcady unfurls a map of Loc to trace the Strike’s early spread and raises a riddle from The Mage Tree. Sorin, Arcady, and Everen correlate the “veins” to the seven rivers from the Fangs, but Sorin’s mind-block prevents her from naming the “heart.”

To break the block, Everen produces scrysilver, explaining its power to scry time. Arcady briefly taps Everen’s magic through their half-bond to bolster the attempt, and together they cast a ward in Celenian. With Everen guiding Sorin mentally, she finds the knot in her mind and begins to unravel it despite searing pain.

Memories flood back: Sorin’s visit to the silent, combat-ready monks of Nalore; then a desperate nighttime flight to the sea repeatedly thwarted by Magnes. In the forest, Magnes appears, alters her mind with a touch, and sends her back—revealing a cycle of control where she nearly escapes before he resets her will.

The ward drops. Shaken, Sorin names her master: Magnes, Head Priest of the Order of the Dragons. Everen completes the revelation, identifying Magnes as Ammil, the supposedly dead last male dragon. The trio grasp the dire stakes: their enemy has embedded himself at the summit of religious and draconic power.