"He copied it," Vael said. "Three years ago. We did not realize until it was already done."

The underground chamber was quiet around them. The original ritual circle sat in the center of it, steady and old, its markings worn smooth by centuries of nothing happening to them. Marina stood at its edge and listened and kept her face completely still.

Vael moved to the far wall where the eastern records were stored, flat stone tablets in carved shelves, each one dense with the fine inscribed lines of a writing system Marina did not recognize. She pulled one out and held it without opening it.

"The original harmony holder developed...