In the Castle, an immeasurably large and complex Gothic architecture, there are seven Towers: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet. The Chosen, the inhabitants of the Castle, stick mainly to their own Towers, which are determined at birth. Tal is a member of the Orange Order, next to lowest. Only the Reds, and the servant Underfolk, are beneath Tal's order in status. For this reason, he chooses the Red Tower to climb in his attempt to steal a Sunstone.

As Tal climbs, his shadowguard mimics the red color of the Tower to disguise Tal's movements. It takes its power from the Sunstone Tal wears around his neck, not a primary Sunstone but a regular one. When Tal reaches the Veil, the black curtain separating all but the uppermost levels of the Towers from the sun, he is enveloped in a total sensory deprivation experience and barely...