It is a dark night...There is no moon to brighten the pitch black sky over Moldavia. Everyone is abed. Or are they? There is a candle shining in the house of Zandra Balzar. She is at a table, mixing ingredients for potion. Her brother, Yuri walks in.

“ Zandra.”

She does not look up from her work.

“ Zandra.”

Again she ignores him. Yuri, now angered, yells.

“Zandra!”

Zandra spills her potion to the table. She turns around to face him, a shard of pottery in her grasp.

“Yuri, you dimwit, now look what you made me do! Do you know how long it took me to get it just right?”

Yuri grabs the wrist with the broken shard that Zandra was pointing at him.

“Woman, I grow tired of you!”

Zandra loosens herself from his grip and backs away.

“Yuri? You've never spoken to me so harshly.”

“I am not your brother, thought it may look so. Zandra, I need your help.”

Zandra looks at him quizzingly.

“Who are you? What have you done with Yuri?”

“Your brother is still here, I have just pushed him aside. I am a Mentis, my name is unimportant.” He moves over to Yuri’s table and sits down. “I am sure you have read your brothers books, have you not?”

Zandra goes to clean up her mess.

“That nonsense about Utopia he's always writing down? His dreams and fantasies? Yes, I've read them.”

Mentis turns the pages of the book.

“Your brother has some good ideas.”

Zandra comes to look.

“Which ones?”

“Most of them are brilliant! Why is it that your brother tries not to make his dream come true?”

Zandra shakes her head.

“I know not.” She said. Then an idea came to her “Adrastea does not believe in his ideas. He thinks she'll lock him up if he keeps insisting.”

Yuri looked up at her with fire in his eyes.

“She is naught to be afraid of. Zandra, I'm going to help your brother get his dream.”

Zandra stared at him in disbelief.

“But how?”

“First of all, I will once more show these plans to Adrastea. Then, if she cooperates, we'll turn Moldavia into the perfect land of your brother's mind.”

For the first time, Zandra takes a keen interest in her brother’s work.

“Let me look at that for a moment.”

Mentis hands her the book. She reads for a moment. At length she points to a paragraph.

“Now, Adrastea will never go for this. Mentis, we'll have to change some parts a bit.”

He takes the book from her.

“That will come soon enough, Zandra dear. Now, will you agree to help me?”

“Of course I will.” she said, then thought for a moment and added: “Great one.”

“Excellent. “ he closes the book. “You are married, are you not?”

Zandra looks down to the floor.

“I was... To Icharus. But I left him long ago. I never loved him, and I found out just how little he loved me.”

“These men are fools to take such a precious thing and abuse it. Icharus will never again come near you. And if he does, just say the word and he shall be forgotten.”

Zandra’s gaze fixed on his eyes.

“Forgotten? You mean you would...”

Yuri nodded.

“For you, anything.”

Zandra shook her head, realizing the time.

“I must get to bed. Tomorrow is a festival day.”

“Which one ?” Mentis inquired.

“Lunasa. I have a special ritual to preform. Will you meet Adrastea tomorrow?”

“Yes. As early as possible.”

He gets up and starts for the door.

“Where are you going?”

He turns back.

“To the cliffs. I must think.”

“No. Don’t go. Stay with me.”

“I will be back soon, my dove.”

He kisses her softly on the forehead and goes from the house. Zandra promptly falls asleep.