Later on, Afsan, in a hurry to rendezvous with his mentor, unwittingly stumbles across a confrontation between Saleed and his old creche-mate, the master mariner Var-Keenir. Keenir has brought with him a new invention called a "Far-Seer". He offers it to Saleed in hopes that it would be useful in his work, but the old astrologer, set in his ways, haughtily refuses the offer. Afsan, however, is eager to use the Far-Seer to look at The Face of God (a mysterious object which hangs in the sky that the Quintaglios worship). Outraged and offended by the suggestion, Saleed berates Afsan and sends him to the palace Hall of Worship to pay penance for his blasphemy.