"What's a Vate?"

"Magician, but sworn to use our powers for the good of others. Navarr society is rather based around being the clean up squad for a horrible magical disaster, so we take not messing around with magic quite seriously.

I'm essentially letting people believe you're a herald I'm escorting because it's not like I've proof that you're not."

"Wouldn't I have to be a Herald of something?"

"Yes, usually you would know, but not always. The Night realm in particular likes planting confused heralds that think they are people, and indeed actual people that they force grew from eggs, just so it's really difficult to tell the difference.

Usually you'd have had a magical signature, though. A tulpa might not, but you've been making more sense than most tulpas."

"What is a tulpa?"

"A manifestation of one of the constellations. They tend to be quite one note, although sometimes they imitate historical people."

"Huh. One note in - thematically matching ways - ?"

"Yes, usually. They're fairly rare, I've only ever met one that was a walking talking being rather than just a slightly odd curse, and not very well studied - they tend not to hold still for it, they show up with a particular obsession, complete their inscrutable task and disappear again."

"A curse?"

"Yes, most tulpas manifest as a curse that affects the behaviour of their host. We had to fix a whole nest of them in... I'm not sure which part of Urizen it was now, I want to say Lustri."

"They have hosts? They don't have their own - bodies or -"

"Some tulpa have their own bodies. Others inflict themselves on people. Sometimes the embodied tulpas curse anyone they touch with the force of their obsession... Come to think of it, that's probably one of the origins of Urizeni insistence on personal space."

"They're obsessed with personal sp- oh, you mean they do this to avoid transmitting curses, that makes more sense."

"Yes - it's also a manifestation of the law of boundaries and I think partially a result of being a lot of under socialised nerds - uh, I was born Urizeni, I am mostly just insulting my past self."

"How come you moved?"

"It is a long and tedious story involving falling in love with someone who is probably even now giving some new parents a terrible time chasing after her up into the rafters."

The First Voice Glade being throughly searched, it's back onto the Trod towards Seren.

"- oh, right, reincarnation."

"Yeah. I do think it suits me better here, though. I can actually just do useful things rather than being continually doubting whether I am doing the best possible thing at every moment. I was always really too much of a dilettante for Urizen."

"I'm glad you like the place."

"Sorry, I probably shouldn't be running my mouth about me. Is there anything you want me to go back over now you've found the notebook?

It's going to be hours on the road to Seren, if you're going to need anything else for that then now is the best time to send a runner for water or snacks or whatever."

"Water and snacks sound advisable."

Another Thorn peeks out of the treeline and at Allegra's nod jogs back off towards Foundhome.

"The Trod should make it easier going than it sounds, but I expect you're less used to walking long distances than most people around here?"

"I'm used to swimming for long periods of time but walking not so much."

"Should work fine, then. If you're having trouble we can always sit down and send ahead for an ox cart, but then we definitely won't make it to Seren by nightfall."

"I can walk. It's my balance, not my stamina."