The scene showing in the scrying mirror was a bleak, empty landscape. It had been so far inside the Shadow that all living things there had been killed, and even now it was still largely lifeless. Here and there, however, tiny specks of green could be seen in the mud. Fast growing weeds with short life cycles moving in to colonise the bare, open ground. Their seeds would gradually work their way inwards, followed by grasses and woody shrubs, maybe eventually trees. Before the coming of the Shadow this had been open grassland, the progression towards forest held in check by the vast herds of grazing animals that had once roamed there, but now the goats, rabbits and wild oxen had gone and there was nothing to stop the ecological progression from reaching its natural climax. Temperate forest. It would be decades yet, though, maybe centuries, before this process could be completed. This land would be barren and inhospitable for a long time to come.

     There was no sign of the University, though, so Thomas gave commands for the mirror's point of view to sweep back and forth while he searched for any sign of human habitation. Now and then he came across farmhouses with barns and outbuildings, still bearing the hideous 'decorations' of the Shadowsoldiers, and once he came across the skeletal carcass of some huge monster, now half buried in the mud.

     After some minutes, though, he found what he was looking for. A low, round hill, standing out strikingly in the flat landscape, surrounded by a cluster of ruins. All that was left of the buildings that had been left behind when the wizards moved the University to the Blue Mountains. On top of the hill itself was the sheer sided cylinder of a tower. Lexandria Tower. Still largely intact. The Indestructibility spells that had been cast on it having endured the centuries better than the Strength spells that had been used on the other buildings.

     "They rebuilt it," said the wizard. "Some time after we left, they must have rebuilt it. Wonder why they didn't just tear it down and clear the site?"

     "They wanted to preserve an important historical building, perhaps," suggested Timothy.

     "Then why didn't they take it with them when they moved to the Blue Mountains? It was a big operation, I suppose. They could only afford to move the buildings they really needed. Maybe they meant to come back for it later and never got round to it. Yes, that must be it."

     Then he stepped closer, though, staring curiously, and ordered the mirror to zoom in on one of the balconies near the top. Half the railing was gone, and there was a hole in the floor big enough for a careless man to fall through. There were other signs of wear and damage, of course, but it was that particular balcony that caught his attention because it was identical to a piece of damage he'd seen earlier that day, before the destruction of the tower. That balcony had been damaged before Saturn had arrived, and after the tower had been rebuilt the balcony had been remade exactly as before, including the missing sections of railing and the hole in the floor.

     "Probably it was caused by some famous historical character," said Timothy when Thomas mentioned it. "You know what sticklers for tradition you wizards are. Someone coughs during a ceremony and someone has to cough at exactly the right moment for ever after. I expect this is the same."

     "Yeah, I suppose," conceded Thomas. He wasn't happy with the idea, though. It just didn't feel right. He stared and pondered for a few moments longer, then put the Coronet of Farspeaking back on his head.

     He used the Coronet to contact a proctor called Fabal, Seskip's deputy. He was in Seskip's office in the Divination building, poring over the daily reports of the other proctors, when Thomas's voice reached him, weak and almost unintelligible from the interference. The proctor had to cast a Farspeaking spell of his own to strengthen the link before they could talk properly. He seemed grateful for the interruption, and was quite willing to chat with him for as long as he wanted. Thomas could sense, over the telepathic link, the tiredness in his eyes from hours of reading other people's crabby, almost unintelligible writing.

     "What do you want to know?" he asked.

     "You proctors know all about the University's history, don't you?" asked Thomas.

     "Yes, it's part of the entrance examination. We all have to spend months in the library and down in the records office boning up on it all, and Seskip grilled me for an hour over minute historical points before accepting my application. Twice he sent me back to do more research, two months before he'd test me again. Damned if I know why. I mean, a knowledge of the University's rules, yes of course. That's essential. A knowledge of all the rites and ceremonies, perhaps, but why do we need to know the exact hour, day and year on which Quimm Mawder had his fatal heart attack, and the precise desk he was standing at when it happened? I mean, when are we ever going to need that kind of information?"

     "Well, I'm glad you do," said Thomas, "because there's something I want to know. When was Lexandria Tower rebuilt?"

     "Rebuilt?" asked Fabal, puzzled. "What do you mean, rebuilt?"

     "After it was destroyed, a thousand years ago."

     The proctor frowned. "There's nothing in the histories about the tower being destroyed. You're mistaken."

     "No I'm not, I saw it happen. Seskip cornered Saturn in the tower and their duel wrecked it, but today it's back, large as life, in the Endless Plains. Someone must have rebuilt it after we left."

     "You say you actually saw the tower destroyed?" said Fabal in disbelief.

     "With my own eyes. Matt too. You can ask him."

     Thomas sensed the proctor shaking his head. "I'd stake my life there's nothing in the histories about it. In fact, there are several references in praise of the Indestructability spells Lexandros cast on the outer walls, so potent and powerful that they never needed recasting, although virtually all the rest of the tower was replaced piece by piece over the centuries. If what you say actually happened, it must have been deliberately covered up."

     "It was seen by hundreds of people! Virtually the entire University's population. There's no way you can cover up something like that."

     Something was tickling the back of his mind, though. A fragment of a memory not his own. A memory of a conversation someone had had with a brilliant philosopher from another universe. It had been on the subject of the multiplicity of universes, and of various theoretical ways in which new universes could be brought into existence. "Gods!" he whispered. "I've got to talk to Seskip!"

     He cancelled the link and, without a word of explanation to the astonished shae and cleric, ran back to the airlock, pausing only long enough to grab a Necklace of Vacuum Breathing before jumping through the door. He was panting for breath from the exertion. I'm out of shape, he realised with a rueful grin, fingering the slight paunch that had developed on his stomach. Twenty years of Lenny's cooking and easy living. I need to go on another quest to shed the weight I've put on. Then the flag in the inner airlock door's window lifted slowly up to tell him he was now in vacuum and he opened the outer door.

     The ring was now surrounded by a nimbus of green light and the wizard felt a little uneasy about approaching it, as a nuclear physicist might as his geiger counter began clicking like crazy. The Farspeaking link wouldn't reach back into the past unless he was virtually sitting in it, though. Gritting his teeth, therefore, he pulled himself the last few feet along the connecting rope, trying not to think about what the randomised magic might be doing to his body. "Thomas Gown to Seskip Tonn," he said in his head, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. "Master, can you hear me?"

     The Head Proctor had just finished memorizing the newly changed Teleport spell when he heard Thomas's voice in his head. "What do you want?" he asked brusquely, annoyed by the interruption.

     "Master, you know the University's history better than any living man," said the younger wizard. "The other proctors say there's nothing in the histories about the tower being destroyed. Is this true?"

     "It was true," agreed Seskip. "No doubt our duel changed history. When we return, we will no doubt find several volumes describing the duel between two unknown combatants and its consequences."

     "But if the histories have changed, why haven't your memories changed as well? And there's another thing." He described the tower still standing in the Endless Plains and the strange fact of the damaged balcony. "There's no evidence that the tower was ever destroyed. And if it was rebuilt exactly as it had been before the duel, right down to the damage it had already suffered at that time, then why is there no mention of the fact? Hundreds of people witnessed the explosion. Hundreds!"

     "So what is your explanation for this mystery?" asked the Head Proctor. "You obviously have one, or you would not be telling me this."

     Thomas hesitated. He knew he was going to sound ridiculous, and he fully expected Seskip to bite his head off, but if he kept silent and was eventually proved right he knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself. "Er, well, yes, I do have an idea. It may sound a bit far fetched, but..."

     "Just spit it out," snapped Seskip. "I haven't got all day."

     "Yes, master. Well, I think your duel created a new universe. I think there are two universes now. One where history is as you remember it, and one in which the tower was destroyed by your duel. I think the ring is now the only point of contact between these two universes, and if you're still there when the ring fails, you may be stranded there for ever." There, he'd said it. He trembled a little as he waited for the blast of scorn and derision he was sure would follow.

     "It's an interesting idea," said Seskip, though, after a brief pause. "And you've been right in the past. Very well, I'll bear it in mind and I'll try to get back as soon as I can. If it's true, it means Saturn'll be stranded here as well, which would suit our purposes just as well as bringing him back in chains." There was a pause. "It may cause us another problem, though. If the Immortal Wizards survive to our time in this new universe, they may be able to come to our universe by walking the planes. I'll have to investigate that possibility when I get back. Fortunately, Saturn lacks that ability. He always regarded it as a waste of time and effort." Thomas sensed a mental chuckle from the Head Proctor. "Unfortunately, I also lack the ability to walk the plains. Very well, thank you for the warning, Master Gown, and I should be back within the hour."

     The connection was broken, leaving Thomas's head spinning with shock and surprise. Your ideas have been right in the past. That's what he said. He spoke to me almost as he would have an equal. The Head Proctor! He was grinning like an idiot as he worked his way back to the ship and was still grinning when he returned to the bridge, where Timothy and Rin Wellin stared in amazement as he related the conversation to them.