1-5: AXIES THE COLLECTOR

This interlude follows an eccentric scholar named an observer obsessed with cataloging spren who wakes naked and beaten in a dark alley after a drunken incident in the city of kai, only to be arrested again after his makeshift clothing is stolen while watching the legendary spren known as the city protector.

An eccentric collector awakens naked and bruised in an alleyway in the city of kai after being beaten, robbed, and left for dead. He converses with a scraggly beggar about owing rent and destroying the local temple, the beggar eventually giving him a blanket to serve as makeshift clothing. Despite being an rare and feared, this man (an from the homeland) walks through the golden-haired citizens, drawing stares because of his unusual shadow direction, crystalline eyes, and unfamiliar appearance. He discovers tattoos on his own skin detailing his observations, noting that he has found spren that only appear when one is severely intoxicated. He makes his way to the docks where crowds gather to witness the daily appearance of a massive, translucent spren named the city protector. He meticulously observes and catalogs the spren's massive form, arms, and rapidly changing faces before it retreats into the water. After the display, a street thief steals his blanket-wrap, causing guards to arrest him and take him to the city dungeons. Despite this recurrent hardship, he remains enthusiastic about his scholarly pursuits, excited by the new spren observations and unbothered by incarceration.