Quote Originally Posted by mallleable View Post
And that's why I'm starting to think The Key has ties to Venat. What could have happened is that when he, and Preservation were tinkering with the crystal to turn it into The Key, and they get forced to have an Echo-like flashback, and get front row seats to Hydaelyn sundering the world into 14 shards. They could probe further, and unlock the memories of The Milalla traveling from The Source world to The Ninth. It would just be about confirming what they saw.

But why is has Azem magic on it, and not 'Venat magic,' aside form the fact that Venat was a former Azem, is another mystery.

Come to think of it, if it is Venat, then they technically would still be getting their info from an Ascian, just not directly.
I tend to think they got the information from an Ascian, although your theory has some merit.

Also we are dealing with a failed rejoining, the ninth still exists. I wonder if Preservation was originally the ninth's version of the scions/wol they foiled the Ascians and then decided to explore further.

I wonder whether the key reacts to a sundered Azem, or is reacting to Azem's Crystal.

Forgive my somewhat disconnected ramblings.