"Give it here."

Taking a snippet out of her own mentor's methods of discipline, Nivara waited a few seconds, her pointed glare softened by the contours of her mask. A dragon could be far more intimidating but Kaldra had probably scarpered long after Kalaris had caused such a scene. Nivara kept her outstretched hand out and waited patiently for her apprentice to react.

"Honestly, Scout. Were you trying to get yourself killed? You're lucky I hid your Trait from Aria when I did."

Scout shifted about uncomfortably, refusing to uncover his prize but his eyes retained a sense of shock at hearing Nivara's confession. His Paper Trait was impressive but the folds of the sleeve were beginning to jut out like a sore thumb. Much like it had done when his companions had completely abandoned him.

"Your brother and his Anvil friends have left without you, no doubt. They used you as the fall guy to avoid the hero of the Burning Wall. They're still trying to hide in the Furnace and have no idea exactly what they tried to steal. But you do." Nivara deduced, her mist trickling down to even the depths of the underground blacksmiths.

The young apprentice continued to remain enamoured by the floor, his muddy boots barely holding themselves together. Nivara could tell from the new scuff marks on the side of his clothes that he had been outside of the Halls of Mediation recently but she said nothing. His Trait wouldn't last much longer.

The thinly concealed papyrus within the cuff of his sleeve began to unravel along with every fray of his nerves. The tell tale white seal of the Excelliars peeled from his Traits grip, Nivara's mist attempted to gently catch the drooping parchment but Scout snatched it with his free hand and finally broke his silence.

"You've no idea what it's like."

The stolen parchment slipped out of his grasp and curled into a ball on the floor. His Traits frustration shredded the surrounding mists but Nivara ignored the hostility and knelt down to pick up the discarded document herself. Eyes wide, she held in a sharp breath of air before deciding on her next point of action.

"I'm sorry?" Nivara prompted as if she hadn't heard his outburst.

She took several paces towards her desk and smoothed out the contents of the text. It took her a few moments to scan the written details and follow Scout's train of thought. The official document was a crude layout of a form hidden as a forced alliance treaty between the Throneholder, Mediators and Tinker Moles. All of whom were involved in the construction and installation of the Divide. It also included the original blueprints.

"You've no idea what it's like to know something no one else believes is true. That document is the only thing that suggests that the Divide is created from something other than a singular source of Light Trait. Everything we know is a lie."

Nivara winced, her mask managing to hide her true thoughts but the similarities between them could not go unnoticed. After all, she knew the face of a desperate child with nothing to lose. What she didn't know was what had driven him to this point. There were numerous reasons as to why Scout was so adamantly against the Divide but Nivara needed to keep going to find out the root of his anger.

"It's the only thing that proves what they've done to the Undercity. People need to know." Scout reiterated, not satisfied with the Regents abject silence.

"Including Lady Aria?" She asked, only needing to mention her name to suggest the slightest bit of hesitation.

Scout squirmed at the thought of Lady Aria's earlier kindness turning sour and more towards Kalaris' form of 'discipline.' He rubbed his elbow, still red raw from Kalaris' unruly Ash Traited but gave no answer.

"You really think people will listen? You're just a kid. It can easily be claimed as a forgery especially if the other Excelliars get word of this." Nivara insisted, trying to push his buttons while leading him away from such consequences with valid threats.

Nivara hated using his age as an excuse but for someone so young and vulnerable living within the Undercity it was no wonder he had latched on to the history of the realm. He wanted something to prove he was right. Just like her.

"It's been signed by all three Tinker Mole clans. They can't deny that. I might not know what they stand for but the arkalite in Opalis comes from-"

Nivara slammed her hands against the desk, her apprentice suppressing a flinch but her exhaustion and patience finally ran out.

"Scout. This isn't a game. Do you have any idea what would've happened to you if our Throneholder saw this? It isn't just arguing against Lady Aria's Trait. It'll destroy our way of living, Laia or not."

Nivara's tightly wound braid had lost a few loose strands, her normal cool, calm and collected self had been overshadowed by her whirring mind. Her constantly anxious and agitated reactions were mostly paranoia towards Hornet's potential machinations.

With the Swarm's members scheming in plain sight, the Wolves of the Fallen attempting to regain their Mediator position and the Excellairs being spread thin trying to keep a handle on all of it her self doubt in convincing others had doubled.

"I don't care. You always say people need proof, not speculation. Well, there's your proof."

Nivara sighed, running a hand against the back of her cloak in an attempt to calm herself. Scout's abject stubbornness only solidified his hunger for knowledge. The same constant desire to know the truth was what drove her to hunt the Mist Maidens back in Caldor. What still drove her to remain as Regent when all else pointed towards leaving.

Her conflicting thoughts clouded her mind, the dilemma of telling Scout the truth being far more dire than the fate of a Lockbind. But if he continued on this path there was no doubt he'd run into far greater roadblocks than a disgruntled Mediator. He would turn Truant. Or worse, the Eternal Death would turn him to dust.

Creed's hopeful eyes mirrored Scout's dogged determination, Nivara only just realising how much older Creed would be now he was on his own. The time that had passed felt inconsequential but she knew from her own experience that Scout would not stop. Just like she would not stop protecting them. But she still needed to find the words that would.

"It's not just proof, Scouterly. It's proof of genocide."

Nivara lowered herself into her chair, the fabric sinking into her skin as she was finally cleared from the burden of the Divide. Scout's face paled in a matter of moments, keeling over as a tangible chair of mist arrived to support him from falling.

"How? You mean...we're used for-"

Nivara's hand raised and her mist tendril silenced him from saying any more.

"Don't. There's a widespread Lockbind in place for more than just that very reason."

Scout clammed up immediately, the possibility of his death would silence anyone who dared go against such a curse. The Divide was allegedly constructed by Lady Aria alone but this small slip of paper proved that she was not the only one involved. Damning evidence that she was not as all powerful as she claimed.

The Mediators were indeed Traited but the inclusion of the Tinker Moles would cause uprisings in those who solely believed in the First Law. Trait was the only answer to them yet the confirmation of Craft being used through Agar contracts said otherwise. Those Traited would rather be slaves, slaughtered by their own people than produce whatever was originally planned by the Divide's creation.

Nivara waited until the young Traited had settled in his seat, unwinding the mist as a warning to watch what he said. Silvertongue could only do so much. The likelihood of a power source other than a single person's alleged ability was now threatened by a boy no older than the Divide itself.

"Why are you telling me this?"

The Mist Traited bit her lip, the russian roulette of a conversation turning to her once again to give answers. It would've been much harder with a truth-detecting dragon but Nivara decided to level the playing field. Her mist swirled towards an apex before becoming a solid object in the middle of her table. Her sealed indigo grimoire.

"I know you haven't summoned your grimoire yet but...even though you're just a kid...you deserve to know what might happen."

Scout eyed her grimoire enviously, fidgeting at such an important object in plain sight. She had no doubt Hornet had told every member of the Swarm to grab it for themselves, promising untold praise and riches to anyone who could manage such a feat. This was Scout's test.

"I don't understand..."

Nivara lifted her hand off her grimoire, goading the young Traited to do what his leader could not. The flash of a memory crossed her peripheral at the reminder of Hornet's very own grimoire set alone and away from its master. If a grimoire was harmed by another Traited, the bond between Oathed or Agar would be harmed as well. Kaldra was gonna kill her.

"I know you don't. None of us do, really."

Nivara slouched against her chair, yawning as she drew her arms away from the desk. Her storm broiled within her grimoire, her fingers desperate to cling to the pages and protect it from harm. Scout remained completely still, his eyes darting from the parchment to the grimoire and back again. All it took was one swift motion and he could take everything for himself.

"So how am I supposed to find out? If you won't tell me, that is." Scout asked, stubbornly turning away from her desk and stuffed his hands into his sleeves.

Nivara couldn't help but smile grimly, gently taking back her grimoire and placing it in her lap. Sweeping her Everchange cloak towards her she tucked her prized possession within her large pockets. It disappeared in a cloud of purple Trait, her theatrics startled the Traited unfamiliar with her abilities.

"I never said that. We'll just have to be a tad more careful with what we say." She reassured him, cryptically alluding to her own tactics to deal with the Lockbind.

Scout's expression immediately latched on to her plan, his eyes shining with promise and desperation. Hook, line and sinker. There wasn't anyone in the Swarm willing to risk messing with such a widespread curse, the last time they did was still fresh in their mind.

To risk dying over a simple discussion was unheard of and with the exception of such a forbidden topic no half decent theorist could resist trying to outwit the outcome. After all, to speak is to die. No powerful grimoire came close to the secrets of the Undercity.

"When Aria discovered the Truants back when she was an apprentice. Let's just say she didn't necessarily discover them."

Her grimoire hidden beneath her cloak began to flicker from a deep purple to a murky mix of blues. Nivara felt her breath hitch, the brand on her face burning for the first time in years.

Her blurry eyes glanced down towards her lap, the blinding cobalt of her grimoire being choked by coiling chains. Its message clear to only her as a tell tale glow of amber provided her with the only ounce of protection she had. The Timekeeper had done all she could to warn her apprentice.

"She-"

Nivara didn't need to cut him off, Scout realising quickly that he couldn't speak his mind without his theories potentially being true. He clamped his hands over his mouth, his Paper Trait peeling the leaves of notes on Nivara's desk.

"If you apply that thinking to other things I'm sure you'll go far." Nivara alluded, pushing a few of the stray blank pages towards her apprentice and capitalising on a sudden idea.

Scout's eyes went wide, taking the stray bit of paper and ran his hands across the edge. As if he had written it with a pencil his thoughts turned into words written in a messy scrawl of a reply.

'What about the Divide documents? Surely, if it was hidden within the Halls of Mediation then they aren't only connected but involved with Opalis' machinations?'

Nivara took several moments to scan his reply, a genuine smile forming on her face for the first time in a long time. It wasn't Scout regurgitating Hornet's soured mantra or clinging to his family's power dynamic theory. He was trying to grasp his own understanding of such a find.

"I don't know whether Lady Aria's current projects are under the same principles but I trust you to keep things quiet. Please. For your own safety."

Nivara felt her breath hitch, the white hot coil of chains around her grimoire bound tight just at the use of a single hint for Scout to go on. His sorrow filled eyes flashed into a familiar pair of calm green ones, settling her distress momentarily only for a sinister flash of flame to merge into a monstrous ashen form.

'What about you?'

Nivara's eyes focused on Scout's handwriting, her mask clinging to her face uncomfortably as she forced herself to ignore the prickling of tears in the corner of her eyes. Scout's stubborn inquisitiveness had somehow crept into her heart, chasing away the demons long enough to help her momentarily forget how her last two apprentices had died.

It had been so long since she had asked herself that question.

"I will stay here. To protect Opalis. I owe it that much." She admitted, much to her own surprise.

The Silvertongue burned her tongue, the truth startling her into silence as she thought of why her feet remained in the slickly stone built office. Nivara felt all the exhaustion over the last few years build up all at once, her head falling into her hands as she tried to pinpoint a single reason to stay.

"Why?"

Scout's disgruntled tone woke her out of her stupor. That anger. That was why she stayed. To stop that anger from infecting another country. To stop Opalis from becoming another Caldor. After all, she knew that side of her Trait better than anyone. Tempest had started that rise within her throat and now she needed to temper it. For Scout's sake.

Nivara let out a breath of frustration, the anger being expelled just as she wished to do for Opalis. What she failed to do as the Tempest of Caldor. What they all failed to do for Shuriken.

The Mist Maiden slammed her grimoire onto the table, its trapped pages breaking free from the threat of flames without Nivara saying a word. Just as Scout had discovered.

Dragging open the heavy tome, she wet her finger to turn through the pages one by one, marking each with a memory of both Nessra of Caldor and Nivara of Opalis. Not Opalis, not Caldor, no but Nessra of the Undercity.

'Whatever happened to Shuriken is happening to Opalis and in turn the Undercity too. I think it's the Divide but I cannot be sure.'

Nivara frowned at her less than direct approach but the wariness of the Lockbind made her hesitant. Unlike the Smoke Traited who was more roundabout with his phrasing she was more blunt and to the point with what she said.

The problem with the Lockbind was that no one knew the full story as to what triggered it. Not only were there no records of such a history but those who knew and dared to speak of it died before they could retell the information to another. It was why Scout's discovery was so life changing. It would save lives if they could document everything with what was written.

Nivara breathed a steady sigh of relief, the prison-like spell over her grimoire now fading as her theory proved correct. The Lockbind only affected the spoken word. Not information that was passed by other communication methods.

Now, all she needed to do was find a way to pass on those methods without being detected. Maybe even sign language counted as a loophole to prevent the Eternal Death from taking them too soon.

"The Undercity we don't have the same protection as Opalis does. Is that why..." Scout pondered, trailing off before he said something he shouldn't.

It didn't take much for Nivara to figure out what Scout's thought process was. The Divide rarely shone its presence onto the Undercity, despite protecting it from the demons above.

But Axis and its neighbouring towns were built in the rocky terrain under the shining city of Opalis so the Divide surely couldn't affect them as much. Could it? Was the absence of the Divide's protection causing Truants or was the opposite true? Was it using the Traited below to power its great barrier surrounding them all? Or was she wrong about everything? Did it truly rely on a single Traited for its power source?

'That's the only theory I have for now. The fact that there are no Truants in Opalis.'

Nivara set her grimoire aside, the exhaustion setting in quickly as she recalled the brief memory her predecessor Mesmer had held of lectures on the Truants discovery.

"Then the genocide you spoke of..."

Scout was too terrified to speak, his Trait tracing over the last phrase of the sentence and replacing it with a single word. Nivara shut her grimoire closed, dispersing it into a sea of mist.

"That's enough for now. Do you understand? Not a word."

Nivara clenched her fist to stop her hands from shaking out of fear or frustration. But Scout wasn't finished with the conversation.

"But you knew about what she did?"

Scout struggled to hide the disgust in his voice but as much as Nivara wanted to answer him she wasn't sure whether the truth was what he wanted. She only knew as much as he did but she was the Regent of Opalis. If she didn't know who else could her apprentice look towards?

"Of course I did. I'm the Regent of Opalis. But it doesn't mean I agree with it. Why do you think I took the Order Leader position?" Nivara lied, a muffled whimper from her cloak alluding to Kaldra's location.

Her Silvertongue was running out.

"Because you're a power hungry dictator?" Scout said in a small voice, almost as if he had reverted to the young boy being picked on by his younger brother.

Nivara couldn't help but laugh, being caught completely off guard by his sinister depiction of her.

"Hell's no. I'm not Kalaris. But it certainly looks that way doesn't it? No, I took the position to give the Undercity a fighting chance to survive."

Nivara's fingers threaded together, finally realising for herself why Opalis meant so much to her. It was those beneath who she had wanted to aid the most to rise outside of Opalis' shadow. To exist alongside it.

Scout didn't reply, fidgeting with a stray scrap of paper he curled into a ball and rolled it between his fingers. His mind seemed to work furiously alongside the twisting and turning of the paper, distracted by so many revelations from the earlier discussions.

"I know your brother and his friends put you up to this, Scout." Nivara reminded him kindly, changing the subject away from such dire consequences.

The Mist Maiden tucked a hand into her cloak pocket and produced a small paper swan. Scout dropped the paper ball, it strayed away from his grip and ducked behind Nivara's desk.

"You knew about the Swarm, the Wolves, my Trait. Rook. Everything."

Nivara fought the urge to roll her eyes underneath the mask, her hand conjuring the mist like a theatrical performer. Her potted fern that had been pushed outside of her door bolted upright as if summoned forwards to swing the door open.

Much like the hot air that burst forth when entering the Furnace, her mist flooded the room and washed over their feet in a current of Trait. Nivara gently knocked on the wooden slats of the nearby wall, the mist jutting out in response as it buffered the echoing sound before shifting back into place.

"You didn't make things easy for me, y'know? You may be an obvious spy but thankfully I am not."

Scout became mesmerised by the sheer volume of Trait, her makeshift soundproofing flashing a bright emerald before turning to a deep indigo. Nivara smiled sadly at the reminder of her apprentice utilising her Haze Trait. Cricket had shown her how to rid the room of sound even with her finicky abilities.

"But I came up with a way to avoid the Lockbind just now. Surely that should count for something?"

Nivara smiled, Scout's petulance reminding her of just how young he really was. He had acted older than he was to try and avoid being targeted by those in the Wolves of the Fallen looking to vent their anger over their situation.

Nivara didn't have far to guess why they were so put out by the Divide's construction and the Mediators attempted integration into Opalis. Even Hawkins' father had helped promote the protection of the Undercity only to be betrayed when Opalis took credit for their design. No one knew what happened to him but neither Hawkins nor the Mediators fully recovered since.

"True. But Kalaris is far more shrewd than you and your Anvil traitors initially thought. It's a good thing I surrounded this place with my mist or she would've no doubt seen you. All of you."

Scout lowered his head, bashfully avoiding Nivara's gaze. It didn't take much to figure out that he had been used as a fall guy and let them escape in the chaos. None of the Swarm had her pinpoint accuracy when it came to Transference and had coined various terms to tell the difference depending on which one you used.

Swappers were the most common type of Transference to start with and could switch positions with their Agars. It was the easiest place to begin with but it actively put their partners in danger whether they were Oathed or Agar.

Those who could directly pinpoint locations were called Threaders but they could only travel for a short amount of time and tended to favour a much simpler route for a safer return trip.

Burrowers were the rarity who focused on becoming fully intangible but the concentration needed to become their Traits element meant they struggled moving through busier terrains and objects. Nivara had spent years developing her Transference and could collectively use two types confidently but strangely the simplest technique to use stumped her every time.

Perhaps it was her inability to put her Oathed at risk but swapping places to save her own skin just felt wrong. But the three Furnace apprentices more than likely covered all three variations but her mist bomb had covered their Transferences tracks.

"You lied to save me. How? Why?"

Scout dejected tone, broke Nivara out of her theorising and she coughed to cover her daydreaming. Her mist might've had the hindrance of helping Scout's friends escape but her Trait would last for some time and would serve as a decent warning and tracking device. But she still needed to provide the bait.

Prising her grimoire from her cloak, the cover swung open and Nivara produced two small, silvery vials from its portal-like pages. Much like Transference, visualising a grimoire as anything but a book took a lot of mental gymnastics. But the ability to use it as storage was invaluable.

"You're stubborn, opinionated and have no idea what kinds of things you could accomplish with a Trait like yours. You lack confidence where it counts and your skills are more suited to being a scholar than espionage." Nivara said, placing a single Silvertongue potion on her desk right next to his origami swan.

It took several moments for Scout to recognise the gilded bottle, his eyes wide with greed. The sheer amount of Guilars he could get from a single dose of Silvertongue was enough to buy out the Bolthole's entire stock of Black Wing rum for a month. But Nivara wasn't intending on selling this particular concoction.

"So?"

Scout kept his expression guarded, the sigil on his ashen tinged arm glowing acid green beneath her mask. Nivara's eyes narrowed in on such a trifling part of Hornet's schemes, the burning reminder of the trust the Excelliars had given her was tarnished by the wings of the dragonfly.

The cursed Lightning Traited had used her time in Opalis wisely, after all who else but Lady Aria could have taught her how to create a stronghold only sigiled members could enter? Nivara sighed, rubbing her arm as if her own blazing white sigil could ever harm her.

"So, you're a smart kid. You had a choice for the first time since the Swarm took you and your brother in and you decided to stay with the only family you knew."

"Is that wrong?" Scout snapped back, turning away from the temptation right in front of him.

Nivara smiled, shaking her head and pocketed the glass vial, keeping the second one clenched in her fist and hidden from view.

"Of course not. No one can blame you for staying, least of all me."

The oblong bottle flashed back at her, the golden substance turning clear like Silvertongue's deceiving counterpart.

"But Aria nor Kalaris take kindly to a plucky apprentice attempting to overthrow them from the inside. Poor tactics or not." Nivara added, the hidden Truthseeker potion burning hot in her palm.

The Paper Traited snorted, a brief moment of anxiety clouding his harsh expression. Nivara resisted the urge to distill the truth compulsion vial into mist without Scout noticing. But something about how it had taken him a while to recognise Silvertongue made her hold off on her decision.

Nivara didn't know whether it was the prolonged silence, the constant questioning of his decisions or the sheer reminder of Kalaris' deadly tactics but Scout's lip began to tremble before it all came pouring out.

"So what am I supposed to do? Rook expects me to do more jobs for him and I can't go back empty handed. He-he'll tell Hornet about me trying to escape with one of her Agars and...and I don't want to die."

He sank to the floor, exhausted but not from lack of trying to stay upright. Like his legs were made of soggy paper he collapsed in on himself, remaining slumped in an awkward position without a care.

Scout's fragile mental state was like a cork left trapped in a bottle for too long, breaking the glass from within until it shattered. The young Traited cried for the first time in years. He hid his face from view, unsure of how to react to such a strange emotion but Nivara did.

Discarding the Truthseeker potion into the recesses of her cloak she knelt down beside him and gently waited for him to respond. Scout bent over in an awkward hug, his arms struggling to grasp what he needed from her. But she didn't need anything.

"I'll teach you. I'll teach you how to be a good spy. A proper one that not even Hornet herself can suspect."

Nivara pulled down her hood, the Everchange cloak falling away from her shoulders as it momentarily swept her grudge with Hornet aside. Scout shivered within the Regents grasp, acting his age for the first time.

His muffled sobs betrayed his earlier resolve for living and the hopelessness he felt as a Traited living in this cursed world. Fear clawed at Nivara's throat, a brief reminder of how much weight her words held for one so young.

As much as she despised the idea of another apprentice turning into another manifestation of her mistakes, part of her knew that survival advice was what he needed to ground himself again.

"But in exchange, I need you to help me keep Kalaris in check by being a good apprentice and not give her a reason to get rid of you. Can you do that for me?"

Nivara's palm fell open, outstretched much like before but this time she didn't need to wait to know the answer. Scout's eyes were hidden beneath his hair but they mirrored the same longing they all had. For that silver touched potion to raise them out of their own worthlessness.

"If I find out more about the Divide and the lost history, you'll be the first to know. We'll have this discussion again, don't worry." She added, attempting to reassure both him and herself.

Scout dried his eyes on his already torn sleeve, sniffing briefly before taking the vial into his clasped hands like holding a precious jewel. His hands shook uncontrollably, too anxious to take the Silvertongue for himself but his gaze was still hypnotised by the wealth he held in his hands.

"Rook was gonna let me get killed by that ash bitten hero, wasn't he? All for a stupid bit of paper."

Scout's tears threatened to spill over again but he forced them away, the anger and frustration being tempered by his own choices. He shuffled awkwardly away from his Regent, struggling to stand up on his own.

"It's alright to be afraid. But if you do this I won't let Rook or the Swarm hurt you again. I swear."

Nivara gave him the space he needed, using the desk behind her to pull herself up as her mist assisted her by gathering her Everchange cloak off the ground. Instinctively, it latched around her shoulders, her arms surrounded by the swathes of blue silk in a matter of seconds.

"On your Trait?"

Nivara's knees buckled in surprise but she managed to keep her footing, taking a moment to register the young boy's question. It was an old saying used during the war, most commonly when a Triad was created.

Nowadays, it was rarely mentioned thanks to the fearmongering caused by necromancers and alleged rumours of Lockbinds. But for the families who still knew its true nature was a sign of absolute trust to swear on the very thing Traited were known for. Who they were.

"I swear on my Trait."

The Mist Maiden didn't even need to think about it, the sour taste of Silvertongue dissipating as she did so. She shivered, the cold chill emanating from her grimoire as a bleak reminder of what her Trait was capable of.

"What if my grimoire happens before then?" Scout blurted out, his hands animated in distress.

Attempting to block out the creeping ice threatening the perfect illusion of her Trait, Nivara leaned back against her desk. Letting her cloak store as much heat as she could in the draft filled room, she was acutely aware of the audible gap in the conversation.

"I'll provide you with a temporary Agar."

Scout's scoff made her wince, as if the sound had audibly tried to hurt her.

"Yeah, right."

Nivara smiled wanly, completely understanding his mistrust in such a high standing Opalian.

"I have a few connections within Svalbard or even Pelt so you should be well prepared if the time comes." Nivara explained, trying not to sound as smug as Scout probably pictured her being.

"But if you decide at any point the partnership isn't working out then you have every right to choose your own." She added, knowing full well how important that last sentence was.

"I can...choose?"

Nivara nodded before he could finish his question. The freedom of choice in the Undercity to choose an Agar was as likely as a slave freed from purgatory. Too many hushed whispers of those who dared to try and escape such a forced contract perish by their partners' will or watch the creature die a few moments before they too succumbed to the Eternal Death.

To be given the option to choose was the chance to survive just a little bit longer. The Mist Maiden knew that no self preserving Swarm member no matter how loyal wouldn't give up the chance to get an Agar of their own.

No amount of Trait could falsify a partner when it came to the inevitable day a grimoire was summoned. Not only that but Scout would have an Agar with the Regent's reputation attached. But unlike her Silvertongue, all Nivara could do was give him her word.

"The Swarm was completely wrong about you. You aren't an obedient, oblivious Regent after all. You're...scary good."

Nivara's laughter bubbled up towards the surface before she could catch it, Scout's vague description of her reminded her so much of Hawkins.

"I'll take that as a complement. But no, I'm not just a spy. I'm a Traited just like you."

Nivara eyed the young Traited uncorking the Silvertongue bottle and downing it with mild disgust but he left no traces in the vial. The taste was overly sweet with a sour undertone as a warning once it's deceiving job was done.

"I guess I haven't exactly figured the 'spy' or the 'Traited' part out yet." He joked, smiling genuinely as his honey laced words added more meaning at exactly the right time.

Nivara didn't reply, jotting down mentally how long his Silvertongue would last. She didn't need Kaldra's truth detecting skills to know Scout wouldn't discuss their Divide theories with his comrades.

Otherwise, his brother and his friends would've known how important that document was and would've never risked Scout stealing it for them. Or the likelihood of Kalaris and herself finding out as they cornered him for questioning.

"What about my brother? He's still part of the Excelliars and the Swarm. Same as me. I can't tell him about this, he'll never believe me but the Lockbind..." Scout faltered, his nerves getting the better of him.

Nivara reached back at a niggling itch behind her, a prick of a sharp object crumpling under the weight of her hand. Scout's abandoned paper swan twitched nervously as if preparing to take flight.

Nivara opened her palm to let the bird free but the Paper Trait began to unfold rapidly in response to his anxiety, stuck between the original shape of a swan and a strange three dimensional castle at the top. A rook.

Scout's eyes followed the constant shifting movements of the folding page, the walls of the structure bending in on itself as Scout's emotions caved in on himself. Nivara raised a cautious hand to stop him but she knew how much guilt, pain and sadness he had felt destroying every bit of the archive he treasured.

"Leave him to me. After all, you have a lot of messes to clean up." Nivara said, joking along the same lines he had done with far less success.

She wasn't entirely sure how to help him but she couldn't let him lose himself to revenge regardless of how conflicted he was over his brother. Her mist flickered out from the shadow of the door, a guiding light to a tumultuous storm of emotion as it briefly washed over the unfamiliar Trait and nestled it back into a swan again.

A plume of indigo haze flashed across Scout's gaze, a memory of two brother's learning to play jokes on each other. Scout chuckled lightly, the reminder of how his Trait had caused such jovial chaos even in such organised hardships. Until those pranks turned sour like Silvertongue to harm his intentions into something far more sinister.

"Your older brother was right about one thing, though, Scout. " Nivara began, noting how her Memory Weave was turning towards murkier skies.

"Oh?"

"Trait is made through force. Force of will."

Scout retreated a little, startled by the reminder of his brother's earlier conversation especially from someone who wasn't present. His swan became crushed under the weight of Rook's words, wounded but not visibly as he attempted to mentally reright himself. Despite the neck of the paper swan re righting itself, it was never quite the same as before.

"Just like my mist, your paper or Kalaris' ash, with enough willpower your Trait can be the difference between saving and ending a life. Do your best to learn your Trait on your own terms. Not Rook's."

Scout gave her a flicker of a smile, but his mind was too lost in the fog of his brother's shadow. His harmless pranks towards Rook became the catalyst for many terrorist attacks across the city. Rook had used his brother's Paper Trait to hurt many citizens when he was too young to tell the difference.

"I don't know how. My Paper Trait is...different. Too different."

Scout's gaze met hers, his eyes flashing into a jade green glow of a familiar blonde girl with a mischievous grin to match her Trait. Nivara closed her eyes, trapping the tears within her mask as she vowed not to let Scout end up the same way she did.

Nivara knelt down beside the young boy, clearing his fringe away from his eyes and thought of the right words to say to him. The words she should've said to Cricket.

"There's a saying from an old friend of mine that helps me remember. It's not a matter of could. After all, anything that can happen, will happen. Anything that can't is down to your own self mentality."

With every word that passed her lips her mist responded in kind, weaving around the paper swan like a guiding river. Her illusions copied the origami in a spray of confetti, the flock of swans rising in flight before dissipating in a flourishing series of smoke bombs.

"I've never seen mist do that before." Scout said in awe, mesmerised by Nivara's Trait display.

The small paper swan floated down from above and Nivara strained to catch it before keeling over and catching herself before she fell. The swan remained nestled in her palm, tipping forwards as if congratulating itself on its performance.

"I've never seen paper do that before, either. Yet here we are." She said, chuckling at the little swan's antics.

Nivara offered her palm to its owner, Scout gingerly prised the folded shape and stared at it for a moment. He smiled at the little toy bird, the swan preening and stretching its wings a little.

"I see now. I will take that to heart. Thank you, Master."

Scout stood up politely, dusting himself off before giving his creation one last look and setting it back on Nivara's desk. With a quiet moment between the two of them, Nivara gave him a nod of approval before letting him leave. Her mist trailed his footsteps as the door he exited swung closed on its own accord and Nivara's Memory Weave took effect.

"I'm sorry, Scout. But not even I can let you remember what the Divide is truly capable of."