"It speaks well of you that you find it unsettling, you know," Julius says quietly, after a moment. He's not sure that he and Benedict have the sort of relationship where such an observation is entirely welcome; on the other hand, he can't help but feel some compassion for such a clear recognition of Tranquility's fundamental wrongness, especially when forced on someone without at least the appearance of consent.

(Given the state Herian had arrived in, impossible not to picture the struggle that preceded what was done to her. Julius remembers how much prowess she had on the battlefield.)

"She was sent here as a message to Riftwatch. And she is that, but maybe not fully the one that was intended."