“So let’s see if I understand: This woman—”

“Sarah Ozymandius.”

“—had the magical ability to communicate with and create plants. One day, she made one that stopped her magic from working? Then something happened, but she doesn’t say what, and she buried her seeds and notes, unable to bring herself to destroy her creation?”

Miranda nods. 

“Now you, for reasons not entirely clear, believe this is more than lunatic ramblings. And you want to grow these plants to cure Shou’s nightmare problem? Out of the goodness of your heart?”

Miranda looks at her shoes and mumbles, “For science.”

“How generous.”

---

Where to Begin

When Lye manages to drag himself down to the dining hall, he finds two very excited teenagers waiting for him. He doesn’t have time to wonder what he did to deserve such energetic companions before they set upon him with questions. 

“How long can seeds survive if they’re not planted?” Miranda stumbles over her own words. 

“It depends,” he replies cautiously, “Why?”

“Because I think we’ve found a cure. Well, maybe a cure. If it grows.”

Lye raises one eyebrow. “A cure for what exactly?”

“A cure for—” Miranda’s gaze shutters. “Shou, tell Lye what you can do.”

He does.

---

Where to Begin

“A book,” Shou glares into the box, like he’ll be able to make something else appear, just by willing it.

Miranda glances up at him. “You don’t have to sound so disappointed. And look,” she holds up a frail-looking little burlap bag with SEEDS sewn into the front. “Not just a book.”

“It was so heavy, I just hoped it would be, I don’t know, something more interesting.”

“It’s heavy because it’s so thick. Lead, probably. If it were thinner, I doubt it would have lasted so long.” She opens the book, flips through a few pages. “It’s a journal.”

---

Where to Begin