Venli stands beside Raboniel at the base of Urithiru’s stairwell, interpreting reports from Regals. The memory of the human dead lingers as a relayform scout is told to redouble the search: Raboniel insists the Windrunner still lives. With the reports finished, Raboniel retreats to her scholar’s desk near the now dark-violet shield.

In private, Raboniel muses on singer divisions and human misconceptions, then presses Venli about her past betrayal. Venli admits regret, accidentally using a forbidden old rhythm. She asks why they fight if love and family are lost; Raboniel answers that they suffer so future generations might know peace, leaving whether Odium allows it unspoken.

Raboniel notes Venli’s divided loyalties to Leshwi but respects them, praising confusion as a spur to discovery. She says her time in the tower is short; she will finish unmaking the Sibling and move on. As payment and dismissal, she gives Venli a writ—on the back, a hastily sketched map.

Raboniel explains tower maps were destroyed, but this human scout’s report marks supposed Natan migrants on the Shattered Plains who are actually Parshendi—a few thousand with many children. Venli reveals that rebels, children, and elders fled into the chasms before the Everstorm and were thought drowned.

“Should have” proves false: the map implies they survived. Clutching the page, overwhelmed by possibility, Venli bolts without a proper farewell, driven by the hope this discovery offers.