The flames in the mirror retreated, and the imposing figure also gradually disappeared into the darkness, but the mysterious symbol that Captain Duncan had shown him remained clearly etched in his mind.
Morris left the storeroom, glanced at his sleeping wife, and went to the writing desk beneath the window. He took out paper and pen and, using the cold, clear light of the night outside the window, quickly sketched the strange ancient symbol while his memory was still vivid.
Afterward, the well-read old scholar furrowed his brow as he stared at the drawing on the paper and fell into brief contemplation.
Even a scholar who had passed the most stringent exams of the Academy of Truth was baffled by the sight of this symbol—he could only be sure of one thing, that this thing was not a mark used by any City-State, church, or official organization, nor did it conform to the standards of occult symbolism.
