—Canticle of Threnodies 8:13 There is very little of the infamous Thirteenth Verse that we can take literally. It speaks in the voice of the Maker Himself; since He has never deigned to speak to His children directly, we can rest assured it is a work of fiction. There are facts, however, that support it, at least in part. Records remain from the time prior to the First Blight saying that, yes, seven magisters did open a portal to enter the Fade physically. These seven—whose true names we have lost either to legend or deliberate obscurement—did so at the behest of the Old Gods, who "whispered from their ancient prisons." We also know that the Golden City, visible from every part of the Fade by any mage at the time, turned black as night the moment these seven breached its gates. Everything