Angelina was the last to board, pausing at the threshold to offer a final nod to Oceana.
"Take care, child," she said, her voice carrying across the chamber with maternal warmth despite the formal circumstances of their meeting.
"Power without wisdom is destruction, but wisdom without compassion is merely another form of tyranny. Remember that the next time you seek to cage those who might soar free."
With that, she stepped into the carriage, and the magnificent conveyance began to move away from the Witch Spire with dreamlike grace.
The swans' wings beat in perfect synchronization, their forms growing smaller and more ethereal as they carried their passengers into the night sky above Amnohdet.
In the chamber they left behind, Oceana stood watching until the last glimmer of the moonlight carriage faded into the distance.
