Arhan, too, had felt the presence of an unspoken rule; like a child who had blurted out an adult joke, and didn’t know why everyone suddenly fell silent. Had it really been so strange, to design an icebow more decoratively than usual? After all, Elhana had approved of his decorative flair in the past. No; something was different this time.

He snapped back to the present. Too long, without a response. “Oh, so that’s it…â€? he forced out brightly. “I was starting to think we were taking in mages from another guildhallâ€?. But it was no use. He was too distracted to hold a conversation; caught up in an analytic mode, looking around as if trying to question the present for answers his mind could not find in the past.