Opinions are divided on Nexus, some feel it is a utopian training grounds, others (Rex) feel it is a prison where we are not the masters of our own fate.
One of the crew, Jim, dies, but turns up the next day with no memory of dying. Rex has Anna scan him but finds no evidence of him not being him.
Psyche and Deca are in a place called the Menagerie.
Rex resigned to staying here, works on improving his shapeshifting, starting with flight. He is sent to a place that seems similar to Elodie's home. He starts working on 4-iimbed flight forms (more like a bat) rather than adding wings. He studies anatomy and aerodynamics.
Psyche talks to Bob regarding the nature of Nexus, and how it related to Faerie. Psyche tries to use pattern to make a subtle change here in Nexus. Bob thinks she in theory safe dong so. She asks Deca, but he is in "observer mode".
Psyche travelled to a place of Faerie, a place of summer. There are faerie dancing about.
Tilly wants a safe environment to practice using Runes. SIS places her in a vault, where she can play around with runes. She suffers a few mishaps but they patch her up, and she learns a lot about various words. While doing this, she encounters a beautiful woman with very fancy dress but barefoot. She cautions TIlly to be careful with runes. She asks if Tilly is trapped where she is, and Tilly says kind of but she would like to stay a bit. Tilly mentions that there are cameras recording them, but she counters that she will not appear on them. The woman says she may be called "Celeste", and she is Tilly's great grandfather's grandmother.
Rex's lessons continue on how to add and lose mass. It is very difficult, but he works at it.
Anna finishes checking out Jim and clears him for service. She then goes into the library. She is lead to a portal that leads to a very large complex, the Library of All Worlds. After much misunderstanding she asks for information on Nexus and its founders. She is told that info is in a sub-basement. She asks for an escort, but has no local currency. She tries to find info on how to get some. She is directed out the front door, which leads to the Courts of Chaos.
Pysche sees various dancing apparently human couples. They unwisely accepted food and drink in fearie. The revel is held by folk that are amused by all of this. They seem to like some of the kids, and are concerned about those (and only those). Psyche tires to learn who the humans are, how they got to be there. It looks like some people might get eaten. Psyche decdes to stay and watch to the end. All the participants are pretty much out of it. A scrawny kid is selected… the other humans are turned into chipmunks and birds, and are deposited in various locations of the forest. The scrawny kid is carried off. Psyche, no longer an observer but participant, remains. There are screams, there is blood, Apparenlty the village agreed to this, to change it from once every year to once every ten years. Psyche bows out before her turn to consume.
Anna checks in with the library explorer's guild. They will be happy to guide her in exchange for a year's labor. Anna offers to have one of them come with her, but they say they would need a spell cast on her to compel her to return. The spell will kill her eventually if she does not return. She does not agree to this.
Everyone receives an invitation to tea, from Tilly. Tilly says she has a way out of here. She says Celeste gave her a flower, and if we had a unanimous decision, it would take us elsehwere. Rex and Anna vote yes. Psyche votes no.
SIS admits it has not spoken to a master in some time. It says there were 73 when the city was founded. It also says that there have been new ones since. Not for a long long time. We also learn that all the people not deemed worthy of advancing have been placed in storage, somewhere, with apparently no intention of reviving.
Rex decides to check out the Library.
Deca asks if there is a record of all his memories.
Rex goes to the library, and contacts the guides. After negotiating, they accept payment of the ship's store of blood oranges. Rex delivers the payment. He takes Jim and Phil, who has skill as a stenographer. They bring plenty of low tech equipment, and will be traveling with two other expeditions. Rex gets to know them as best as he can.
Psyche contacts Carowyn, and asks about the previous children that were placed in storage. She asks why, but Carowyn doesn't know. Pysche wonders if his was meant to be temporary but nothing ever changed it. Psyche suggests moving them to another place where they can live. She says SIS has no method of releasing them. Also they got very angry and disruptive, so they were placed in stasis.
Rex ventures with the "princess" group, which gets overextended and are all killed by a "shadow wraith".
Nexus info from library. FOunded by subset of ancients called "architects", created as a place to keep their people more secure, and a training place for their children. Lists some names of founders. Some interactions with other shadow powers. At some point it was locked away where most could not reach it. Eventually most of the architects decided the city wasn't that useful to the architects due to liking to travel.
Founders are part of the: Sul'dea. RIvals are the Pyr'dea. They were more interested in individual freedom and exploration. They appear to be more destructive, they did attack Nexus at some point. Some of the masters were lost. (the Bear was part of the Sul'dea, sort of).
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