What a stunning, ambitious fic! I loved the way you set this up, with hints of the unknowable past hidden under the ruins of both the town and Tilda's aging body, layers upon layers. I loved the politics, the sense of power between people as well as elements of society. I loved the way you really *worked* some of the silence of canon (on what happened after Ariana's death, especially) to make sense, and to become meaningful. And there were moments of humor, too--Muriel's brothers doing a "favor to mankind," Lily's two beaus. An unforgettable story, thank you. M.