"Do you not know it?" Sonder asked. "There was a time when every scholar, historian, and wizard knew it. The likeness appeared in paintings, statues, coins, and tapestries for centuries. But somehow it's not anymore. No one knows it. Somehow. But I would never forget."
Aronia looked at it, and she wracked her brain. If it had been a famous figure, then she would know it. At least if it was a famous figure by human standards.
The history of the other races had been obscured, especially to human eyes. It was not like it was not allowed to share; instead, the relations to different races had been, at most, neutrally hostile to just outright hostile.
There were some places where different races lived together, but from what Aronia knew, they were few and far between and not very friendly.
But the world was a big place. Before today, she had barely heard of the undead, immortals, and high-level wizardry, but today, a person who represented each was before her.
"I have no idea," Aronia said after she thought she had looked enough. "Care to enlighten me?"
"The likeness is unmistakable. These are the broken remains of the mask that the Wizard King Endrith of Irath wore."
A strange unsettling feeling washed over Aronia. She thought she was supposed to know the name.
Aronia remained silent.
That uneasy feeling lingered. Not fear, not quite.
It was the irritating sensation of standing in front of a bookshelf and knowing with absolute certainty that a particular volume belonged there, only to discover an empty space instead.
But there was no point chasing a feeling, not yet.
Feelings were poor research. Evidence was considerably more reliable.
If this Endrith had truly been as significant as the sorceress claimed, then the Archives would have records.
The sorceress looked past Aronia for a moment.
Somewhere much farther away than her prison.
"He was the reason I began this journey. My journey. I lost everything because of him. I am undead because of him. I am a sorceress because of him, and I found the first shard because of him. And then another and another."
She looked down at the fragments embedded in the wood.
"I only have hate for him. And yet I keep searching for pieces of his mask. Because I need power and I don't know anything stronger. I had hope that I could get strong on my own, but that isn't so. So I keep collecting the shards. Even after I learned who they belonged to. I hope to use his power against him. His power is the only power I have ever encountered that might be enough."
"Enough for what?"
"To help someone I care for very much. And I feel like I am so close to the end of my journey."