Summary of Consos Clan History, as Told by Nandu, Consos Guardian of Vision We lost our history the day Balder died. His death throes tore apart Balder’s archives—once a single great edifice—and the very ground on which it rested. Only a few children survived. I was one of them.<CLOSEPAGEBUTTON>Close book.</CLOSEPAGEBUTTON> The adults spoke often of Balder, how troubled his face was, how infrequently he laughed. Lok visited him frequently. I think Balder’s moodiness frustrated him; Lok was always chiding him or jollying him out of his moods. I never saw Lok without a smile until...that day. <CLOSEPAGEBUTTON>Close book.</CLOSEPAGEBUTTON> I remember the sound, a tearing roar like thunder that wouldn’t end. My father, Bornu, told me we had to flee. As he carried me through the lighthouse plaza, I saw Lok laboring over a smoking arcane device with a team of castanics. His skin was ashen, his eyes wild with grief and fear. There was another man, also—a shadowy man with a pointed beard. He was smiling. <CLOSEPAGEBUTTON>Close book.</CLOSEPAGEBUTTON> Our parents hid us in the archive’s great vaults. I’m sure they meant to return, but moments after they closed the doors, the ground shook like a wet mugato, again and again, hurling us from floor to wall to ceiling. I was near-deafened by the sound and near dead from the impact. The vault doors lay askew. Through the gap I saw an immense figure wreathed in blue flame using his burning hands to close a great rip in the fabric of the sky. Balder.<NEXTPAGEBUTTON>Next page.</NEXTPAGEBUTTON><CLOSEPAGEBUTTON>Close book.</CLOSEPAGEBUTTON> We were rescued, fed, clothed...by the gods, for all others were forbidden entrance. I remember them arguing by Lok’s great spear, fallen near the archives. None of them stayed long, except Mystel. After my hearing returned, she taught me to use the repositories and explained my duties as leader of my tribe. I was nine years old.<PREVPAGEBUTTON>Previous page.</PREVPAGEBUTTON><NEXTPAGEBUTTON>Next page.</NEXTPAGEBUTTON><CLOSEPAGEBUTTON>Close book.</CLOSEPAGEBUTTON> To your other queries, I answer: we guard Balder’s legacy but do not control it. You are welcome to explore the refuge, but do so humbly; this is holy ground, and its secrets protect themselves. If you wish, as I do, to unlock the final secret Balder bequeathed us, help me to find those worthy to seek it. Only when Balder’s conditions are met will all our curiosity be satisfied.<PREVPAGEBUTTON>Previous page.</PREVPAGEBUTTON><CLOSEPAGEBUTTON>Close book.</CLOSEPAGEBUTTON>