The Learned Man longs to tell a story that is good and true and beautiful in order to gain entrance to the Cult of Beauty, but he is preoccupied with the memory of lost love. When he thinks he may have found her again, he sends his Shadow to investigate, but it seizes that opportunity to break free. When the Shadow returns, he has taken on a life of his own and his new-found humanity threatens to consume that of his old friend.
sending...