[u]Outside[/u]
"So," Edward began, trying to take his mind off of what was going on within the building. It wasn't something for him to know, and that drove him mad with curiosity. All of his compatriots had been allowed to stay, for one reason or another, but not him? Not the other men? What the hell was going on? "So," he said again, pulling out his notebook. The poor thing had been getting more and more tattered as they went. "You mentioned...something called 'ye-Orlah' earlier. What is that?"

Collin turned to answer, but Raymond beat him to it. "ye-Orlah is the true maker of all things. The balancing force of the world, the creator of ye-Kambha'la, its servants and heavenly agents." Raymond had his head pressed up against the door of Holloway Co. Edward had joined him at first, but had given up when all he could hear were muddled voices.

The young man flushed when Collin stared. "I know a few things about the culture of our people too. I was raised here, wasn't I?" When Collin shrugged and looked away, Raymond continued: "ye-Orlah is a creature of symmetry and balance. Not...not order, really, but where one extreme occurs, the other has to happen somewhere else."

"So two wrongs could make a right?" Edward asked, his pen moving with fervor. He was barely keeping up.

Collin interrupted. "Not really. More like a wrong and a right make a balance. Good and evil, light and dark...that sort of thing."

"I see, I see..." Edward turned back to Raymond, but the young man had returned his attention to the door. "And how does...ye-kamblabla--"

"ye-[i]Kambha'la[/i]," Collin corrected him gently. "There is a space. The 'la' means 'god'." Sensing Edward's confusion, he continued. "'ye' is 'the', in some cases. 'kamb'...literally, it is 'countenance', but generally it means 'face', so 'kambha' is 'faces'. Not too complicated, is it?"[hr]
[u]Inside[/u]
Maxine chortled heartily at Luna's outburst. "Heavens above, child, such fire! I shudder to think what lack of love filled you with so much vitriol." The lazy smile on her face was one of utter control: or at least, a [i]belief[/i] in her own control. "If I wasn't so thrilled to be reunited with family, I might have been forced to call my security detail to take you away. Understand this, child: material wealth is not my end goal. Manipulating material wealth and fanciful trinkets allows me to further my true goals." She left that cryptic statement to hang in the air, glancing at Constance with a knowing look and a subtle roll of the eyes.

"Now", said the old woman, switching to Ghalari. "Dear girl. Love is not necessary to create a long and profitable union. My own husband and I are proof of that, though I have grown fond of him over the years. You will see. Arn is a fine man. He shall care for you, and you shall not want for anything, as a part of our family. I like your parents as well, and I doubt they will disagree with me. Together, our families can accomplish a great deal."[hr]
[u]Outside[/u]
"Sorry," Edward said, a small, apologetic smile crossing his face. "I'm used to only one God back home. One God, one Obelisk...that's the main religion of the United Is--"

"Obelisk?" Collin interrupted him sharply. "You said...an Obelisk?"

"Y-es?" said Edward slowly. "A great big thing of stone and metal. It's been there since recorded history, and no one has ever been able to figure out how it works. Pieces of it float in the air, completely cut off from the rest. They just...levitate, impossibly."

"We have an obelisk here," Collin said, urgency creeping into his voice. "It is called 'ye-la'spiekr'. The Gods' Tower."

"What?" Edward asked in shock. In the span of half a second, excitement, confusion, and even terror rushed through him."

"But there are no floating parts of ye-la'spiekr. Just a tall, dark spike into the sky. It is hidden in the mountains near Ghal-Priyam." Collin glanced at Raymond, still ignoring them to listen within. "It's where ye-Orlah and ye-Kambha'la are said to repose when they grace the mortal plane. But I don't--"

"Collin-sha! Collin-sha!" A foreign voice interrupted their urgent talk with an even more-urgent sound. Edward had seen enough paper-boys and messengers back home to recognize a runner. The boy came to a stop in front of Collin and spoke to him in a rapid burst of Ghalari. Collin's face grew pale, and then he turned to look at Edward.

"What do you know about a large ship which just landed at Ikallge? One...Galloch?" He butchered the name, of course. "A man named Conway claims he's looking for you."