(by Raeyan Coburn, 1454 [annotations by Question Press, 1547])
To put together this account, in all cases I have relied upon things I either personally witnessed or were recounted to me by multiple reliable persons. Many of the stories which have grown up regarding the miracles surrounding the The Grand Conclave I have found to be unreliable. (In particular, the story that Feroze's messenger prophesied the Great Fire is greatly exaggerated if not completely untrue.) Other stories I could not confirm. Though this restricts this account a great deal I hope that it may still prove useful.
In 1447, at the age of nine, I was assisting my parents in maintaining the Sorcerer's House in the city of Cormenaera. The house was maintained by Mir's embassy for important visitors. By combining the Sorcerer's House with the embassy even the largest groups of official visitors from Mir could be accomodated. Lacking residents most of the time, the House was overstaffed. This was deliberate, permitting the permanent staff to oversee the temporary staff in the event of a large party taking residence.
Mira, Tallas, and their son Ulysses arrived during the spring planting. After a whirlwind inspection which looked into every corner of the house, they made it clear that they were expecting all sorts of visitors and that everyone who came was to be treated respectfully regardless of their apparent wealth or station. They then set aside a portion of the carriage house as a classroom and announced that anyone who wished to learn to read and figure could come to the classes there.
Ulysses was 7 years old, and I was appointed to keep him out from underfoot of the adults. Mira spoke to me personally and assured me that it was fine if he spent his days in the same way I spent mine. There was no reason for Ulysses not to learn the skills of cleaning and maintenance, even if he were to become a sorcerer. At first, I must a admit, I was little scared of the lad. He and I got along eventually though, and if he slowed down my work, he made up for it with the help he gave me in learning writing and figuring.
After arranging things to their liking at the Sorcerer's House, Mira and Tallas spent much of their time out in the city. They were always busy, but carefully set aside one hour every day for classes.
Most of their time was spent at the location that would become Exquaestio's Grand Ecclesia. A baker in one of the poorer parts of the city had converted to Exquastio and offered one of his grain warehouses for meetings. After Mira had visited the various locations in the city and talked to their owners, she decided this warehouse was the best location from which to summon Feroze's messenger from the Dreaming. She had concieved this plan over the winter and the new abilities she had discovered in Mir quickly convinced other espiri to go along.
(Though Mira doubted her ability in comparison with the previous Eldest, and absolutely refused to use the title, no espiri who talked to her for more than five minutes ever seriously doubted that she was the one who deserved it. As one Pioneer put it, "The rest of us walk, she flies.")
To give the best chance of summoning the messenger Mira and the other espiri spent a great deal of time consecrating the warehouse, dedicating it to the rite of summoning, and bringing it closer to Feroze' part of the Dreaming. Mira and Tallas also spent a great deal of time meeting with the members of Exquaestio in the city. They shared the skills and a portion of the knowledge they had gained from the time in Mir. As two who had actually spoken to Feroze himself they were much in demand.
When the party from Lowfells arrived, Mira managed to greet them at the docks. While I do not know for certain, I think the powerful rites she used to empty the ship the Lowfells group had traveled on of its cargo were driven by her grief at the First Primate's death. While she was never slow to use her magic, niether did she normally make a spectacle of it as she did in that case.
Mira had arranged for accomodations for the Lowfells party at the Sorcerer's House, and I came to know them very well. From the Preceptor, Lars Venekson, to the newest vicar. I spent a great deal of time with the scout, Geros Haram (who became a pioneer before the end of the Grand Conclave). He gave me help with my numbers, and I listened to him talk for hours about espiri magic and his wife and daughter.
The knowledge that the First Primate had died severely upset the plans that had been made. People had expected the Grand Conclave to acknowledge Bishop Hugo as Primate and then reach a consensous on church organization. After much discussion it was decided that there would first be a memorial service for the First Primate. That would be followed by the espiri's attempt to summon Feroze' messenger. Then the 25 priests would meet to discuss church organization and the election of the new Primate.
To tell the truth, I don't remember all that much about the memorial service other than being hot and bored. (I was 9.) I do know that the discussion about which priest should speak when eventually became so heated that Mira was forced to pick the order. I was present as she performed the rite and drew the priests' names out of a hat. [Raeyan is mistaken here. The rites to do this were not to be discovered for years, and nothing indicates Mira was working on them this early. Mira's actions were most likely a simple prayer which Raeyan mistook for a rite.]
In contrast to memorial I was deeply caught up in the excitement of the summoning. People who knew nothing about it were comparing it to Mir's gate into the Dreaming, my mother was muttering about it being lucky the city watch didn't know what was planned, and people were running all over the place getting supplies and rehearsing to make it go perfectly. In the end, 12 espiri gathered with 60 others skilled in providing assistance to espiri rites. The result wasn't what anyone expected.
Mira said the summoning rite, with its trained and experienced participants, was like writing on paper instead of sand in comparison with the generally untrained assistants she was used to.