In the Archivist’s working office, among stacks and stacks of thick glass tablets, each one the “archive” and final resting place of a once-living being’s memories, the Lord Archivist reclines in an enormous leather swivel chair, wings scraping the ceiling. There are two others in the office with him.

“Isaac?”

“He’ll live,” the smaller, ram-horned demon says. “Given what we have on his talents and his bloodline, I might wager that he’ll be growing that hand back for years.”

“Antara.”

“I don’t know how she fucking did it,” the succubus hisses, tail twitching with anger. “Only human. But I swear this, she won’t be able to do it twice.”

“Antara, focus. The dossier.”

“Yes, Archivist, I got the fucking dossier from Tenebrae’s own files! It’ll tell you the same thing!”

She tosses a thick leather folio onto the desk.

“Good. Leave me, both of you.”

Antara storms off, and then Isaac closes the door gently behind himself, leaving the Archivist alone, or alone as he can be, in this quiet tomb of those that have drawn the Library’s most focused interests.

The small snakeskin book is there. He lifts the cover again to see the note that he has already read, two words in the handwriting of Elder Mara of Clan Serpentine. It says, “BE NICE”.

The folio’s cover is embossed with the words “PROJECT CROWNBREAKER”. He opens it, and begins to read.