"It could have been given to him by a different Great One," she adds thoughtfully. "They all speak the same language... or, well, maybe they don't. I shouldn't assume. You could be right, too." Although she doesn't like the idea of Micolash taking a rune without the Brain's blessing, either.

"I either met it or a... a projection of it, in the Nightmare," she replies. As for what sort of Great One it is, she hesitates to reply. It feels a little underhanded to dish out more of Micolash's mistakes, especially when she promised to be a better friend. But how will Abysa ever hope to rehabilitate the scholar if he doesn't have all the facts? "It's not a typical Great One, it's the result of an experiment at Micolash's school. A class of students attempted to... ascend? Join him in the Nightmare? I'm not entirely sure of the details. But... something went wrong. Very wrong. I know that part, at least, wasn't Micolash's intention at all. He tried killing it, but the Brain only reforms. He tried praying to Kos, some say Kosm... but she didn't answer. So he... he used the Brain as some sort of guard for the school, projecting its aura to keep away trespassers." Her mouth turns down in disgust; she can't help it. A dozen lives or more crushed into some endlessly suffering creature, hoisted above the school gates like a bloody mascot. "So far as I know, that's where it still is. I only gave it a small break from its pain."