Hoa, the narrator, provides historical context for what came before the Stillness. He describes Syl Anagist, the dominant nation that existed before the event that caused the Seasons. It was so large, sprawling, and tightly packed that it would be unimaginable to people of the Stillness, whose cities and towns are limited in size and design by the instability of the earth. In contrast, Syl Anagist is a highly advanced and urban society. Its cities are densely populated and use a type of resonant potential as energy. At the center of Syl Anagist sits the amethyst obelisk, still in its socket, a deep hole bored into the earth’s crust. It is connected to a web of other obelisks, with one at the core of each large city—or node—that extends out from the central hub. There are 256 of them around the world in total, each feeding and being fed by the city that houses them.

At the base of the amethyst is a hexagonal complex of buildings. Hoa says that though it looks comfortable, it is a prison. He describes a boy inside one of the cells. Everything about the boy—his skin, hair, eyes, and clothes—is colorless.