The alchemist Eilaynia informs Conan that he will serve her, but Conan obviously scoffs at this despite Petroccia's assurances that her magical mists will compel him. They do, in fact, cause him to fall asleep and when he wakes up, although he can vocally complain, finds he cannot resist when she tells him to follow. She leads Conan to her bedchamber and explains that thousands of years ago, she was Princess of the kingdom of Nincenno, and she fell in love with a wandering alchemist named Mayella who taught her his craft. But Mayella was a spy for a conclave of wizards who sought to destroy Nincenno, and did so even though Mayella had a change of heart and and fought against him. Mayella was condemned to a living death between the earth, and millennia later, Eilaynia, the only survivor of