Silus was grateful for the respite from the sun when they stepped into the shadows cast by the settlement’s houses. The dwellings that surrounded them seemed to have been sculpted from the sand on which they sat. A few rose a foot or so higher than their neighbours, and a few had domed rather than flat roofs, but otherwise they were very similar. However, rising above them all, Silus could just see the summit of something remarkable.

At first it was just a glimpse of twisted spires, the brilliant white stone reflecting the sunlight like mother-of-pearl, and reminding Silus of the shells he used to find scattered across the beaches of Nurn. As they approached the centre of the settlement, the sand structures began to dwindle in number and soon they could see through to the astonishing heart of this place.

“What is that?” Katya said. “A palace?”

And it was regal and magnificent, but it was like no palace Silus had ever seen, easily rivalling anything even the celebrated architects of Miramas could have dreamed into being. It was impossibly delicate, looking as though a strong wind would shatter the edifice in a moment, but there was an inner strength there; a sense of great power contained. The sun, pouring through the fine webs and arches of the structure, splintered into a thousand rainbows, throwing a beautiful prismatic spray towards them. The sand beneath their feet gave way to glass as they neared the structure, blackened and blistered, as though whatever force had placed this wondrous building here had produced a ferocious heat. Silus thought that he could detect a low rumbling sensation through the soles of his boots, yet the structure before them emitted no sound. Indeed, he considered, for the hub of such a substantial settlement, it was curiously quiet.

There appeared to be no obvious entrance to the structure — no doorway marred the perfection of the stone, no archways led within — yet, as they approached, the silver-eyed man did not falter in his step and passed right through the wall before them.