67 Calay, Saedran District

Suspicious guards stood posted outside the shuttered warehouse near the Calay docks, ready to stop any saboteur from causing mischief. Secure inside, the large sympathetic replica of the Dyscovera was the most faithful representation of any vessel that Burian na-Coway had ever built. The Saedran model-makers had done their absolute best, and Sen Leo had approved every step. It was perfect.

Belatedly, however, the old scholar realized that such absolute accuracy posed its own danger. Such a strong connection between the two ships—original and model—might create a significant vulnerability for the real Dyscovera.

After years of studying sympathetic magic, Sen Leo believed that the greater the size and complexity of a twinned object, the stronger the link through the fabric of the universe. Burian na-Coway's craftsmen had made this model very large, seven feet long from bow to stern, for the best possible accuracy. With its clear sympathetic connection, they could monitor the condition of the real vessel.

Last night, though, Sen Leo had awakened abruptly with the shocked realization of what should have been obvious: the bonds of sympathetic magic traveled both directions. If the horrid ra'virs were to break into the warehouse and destroy the ship model—especially such a large model—might that not damage the actual Dyscovera?

At sunrise, he rushed to the castle, demanding to see the queen. Although she had not yet emerged from her bedchambers, the scholar's obvious urgency alarmed the castle guards, who went directly to the royal chambers. Anjine was awake and alert when she entered the main hall, pulling a robe around her shoulders. Sen Leo waited there, fidgeting. “There is an unexpected danger, my Queen. We need to protect the Dyscovera model with all the resources we have.”

After he explained his concern, she dispatched Marshall Vorannen with a troop of his trusted city guards down to the warehouse. “If you can figure this out, Sen Leo, then Urecari spies may come to the same conclusion. No one is ever to be left alone with the ship model. Station three guards there at all times.”

Fortunately, no ra'virs had manifested themselves. Yet.

Following Vorannen and his flushed men down to the warehouse, Sen Leo looked at the intact construction, relieved. Each morning, as was his habit, he made a slow circuit of the model, studying it for any signs of damage to the hull, a crack in her mast, a tatter in her sails. It was the only way he could infer the disposition of the Dyscovera. So far, the exploration ship seemed unharmed. They had been gone for more than five weeks.

The scholar scratched his chin, but made only a noncommittal sound to the model-maker who hovered next to him. He complimented the guards for keeping the model safe, told the Saedrans to continue their watch, then returned home to his wife, bleary-eyed and tired. He bought a loaf of bread and two smoked sausages from a vendor on his way.

After the two shared a pleasant lunch next to the open window in their kitchen, Sen Leo climbed the wooden ladder to the roof, where he kept the special rea pigeons. Well-fed and healthy, the birds rustled and cooed, spreading their wings in restless exercise. Sen Leo had built them a spacious cage, much larger than the one Aldo had aboard the Dyscovera. He poured kernels of grain into the feed dish, and the birds stirred again, but not because of the feed.

The scholar looked into the sky and was surprised to see another pigeon winging in. The weary bird swooped low, flapping its wings to alight on the plank roof of the coop. Another rea pigeon, identical to the ones inside!

With a gasp, Sen Leo spotted a tightly rolled ribbon of paper tied to its leg. Though he had been expecting this for some time, the old scholar was shocked now that it had actually happened. The connection between the birds had worked. He grasped the pigeon's wings, holding it gently. The bird was trembling and exhausted; its flight must have been long.

He imitated its cooing noise. “Hush, you made it, my friend. You're here, safe and sound.” He stroked the bird, calming it, then with unusually nimble fingers he untied the strings and removed the paper note. He placed the tired pigeon in the coop with the others, where it could eat and drink after its long voyage. The pigeon quickly found its twinned counterpart, and the two seemed inseparable.

Only after he had seen to the courier bird did Sen Leo turn his attention to the strip of paper. Holding it carefully, he made his way down the ladder to the bright main room, where his wife was still cleaning up from their lunch.

“Aldo sent a message!” He unrolled the paper, holding it flat on the table so he could read the tightly written letters in the Saedran coded language. Squinting, he scanned the description of the Dyscovera's voyage so far, thrilled to hear the report.

As he read in fascinated silence, his wife pestered him with questions about Aldo, and he answered her curtly, still absorbing the message himself. When he was done, Sen Leo had three things to do: First, he would go to the Mappa Mundi in the main Saedran temple and mark the coordinates, an entire swath of Aldo's discovery to incorporate into the Saedran chart of the world. Then he would go to the na-Curic household and show the note to Aldo's family. Finally, he would go to the castle and present the news to Queen Anjine.