***
As opposed to Shahdur Castle, a place of perpetual darkness, Varyu’s castle was a place of perpetual light. The wind needed windows even less than did the blind wizard, and so the rising and setting of the sun on the earth far below had no bearing on the occupants of this heavenly abode. The light was as constant as the smells that continually wafted through the corridors, and the lack of a reference made time difficult to measure.
The travelers were resolved not to linger in this bizarre and uncomfortable place, and the yazata Varyu—never an adherent of human etiquette—was not offended by their desire for a rapid departure after they had obtained his piece of the Crystal. After promising to serve Oromasd’s cause—though never saying in what ways he intended to do it—Varyu summoned th
