"There might need to be a little encouragement, but I'll not begrudge those who prefer to say nothing," the Exarch says, his easy smile not leaving his face. "I have my fair share of secrets, and so I am hardly one to judge."

He directs his visitor to the neatly made bed that - given there is no need to sleep - has been scrubbed clean and repurposed into seating. Sitting on the bed is one of the books that had been holding up the window.

"This is what I have been working on," the Exarch says, indicating the journal. "'tis only a personal journal discussing what we find here, yet I hope to use what I learn to write more of our present surroundings. I feel we ought to keep suitable records of our story here."