Halfnote's Song

Glass singers in the city of Albermarle use the ancient songs of dragons to fashion molten sand into the most intricate pieces of glasswork.

Half note, youngest apprentice of the House of Verre, knows that she is breaking the rules when she sneaks in to watch her sister Octavia’s test to become a journeyman of the guild. No one doubts that Octavia, brightest singer of her generation, will pass the test. But there is more to the craft of glass singing than the mere making of baubles. Just as Octavia’s success seems assured, every piece of finished glass in Verre House cries out in alarm.

Soon they know why: the Intan Negarawan, heir to the throne of Samoya, brings an elephant to Verre House – and plague to the city of Albermarle.

The plague is incurable, the desperate prince tells them. It is also decimating the people of Samoya. He begs Fortis Verre, Grand Master of Verre House, to create a healing mirror. A skilled physician could use such a mirror to find the cure for almost any condition.

But the making of such a mirror is now forbidden. As Master Verre has experienced for himself, one wrong step in its creation can change the mirror from healing aid into an all-devouring monster.

As the plague spreads, however, the glass singers of the House of Verre begin to consider the unthinkable. Do they have the skills to make such a mirror? Can they make it in time to save those they love? And what will they do if their efforts create an insatiable monster instead?