33

Ah," a faint voice whispers in your mind, "two travelers from Byzantium. Where, or when, is Byzantium?"

The words are thin, the voice exhausted, but the presence in your mind is clear and bright.

"Indeed I am, and I had many names before the rise of Orthodoxy. You are probably wondering what I'm doing now, pulling levers inside this stone idol." The Icon seems to consider for a moment whether it can trust you, then it goes on.

"When the actions of Dr. Sabbatine brought about the creation of this world and this time, the False Icon wounded me, and I fell to earth. I spread through the green and growing things, as is my nature, but found myself called upon to heal, until little remained of me."

"You healed me," Alexius says. "In the grove."

"It was an honor to give life," the Icon says.

You hear a faint sound beside you: Alexius gasping for breath. He stumbles out into the cool night air, shaking, overwhelmed by what he has seen.

"It's real," Alexius says. "It's real, and it…changed me. What do I do, Crowchar?"