By the time all the students had arrived, Theo had made less progress than he'd hoped. He'd shattered the first solarstone boulder into brick-sized lumps, but they'd proved remarkably resistant to proper shaping with his chisel. Breaking apart the first had been enough to convince Nanjuma to give him a second boulder, since he'd pretended that he hadn't tried to work them further.

The problem was that the heart of soulcrafting was vague and slippery. Raw power using cantae didn't necessarily translate to being able to work inside your soulhome, and though physical fitness and dexterity mattered a little, they weren't sufficient. The core work was fundamentally an act of willpower, and even though he remembered how to do each task, his years on Earth had weakened his capacity.

Still, it was better than nothing. Theo stacked his lumps into a circular chamber and stuck hearthtree boards over the top to make a primitive room. It might look laughable, but it was a nice little trick that let him store cantae quickly. If there was another fight before he could properly create his soulhome, he wouldn't be defenseless.

Though the arrival of the last groups was celebrated with a feast, both Theo and Fiyu skipped it. He'd seen relatively little of her, but knew that they'd meet again for the first class with all the students. The day after the feast, Nanjuma called out for everyone to gather in the main courtyard. Fiyu urged him to take a position by the edge and placed him between her and everyone else.

"Welcome, welcome!" Nanjuma boomed as if he was greeting everyone, but they were still getting organized. That didn't seem to matter and he went on booming in a hospitable fashion.

While they assembled, Theo looked through the group. There were perhaps a hundred people standing in the center of the square, mostly from worlds closely linked to Tatian. He spotted Navim, Fiyu, Magnafor, and a few others he was used to seeing. Famaj was nowhere to be found until his eyes moved on to the Farmguards standing at the edges.

They wore more elaborate robes, as if they were to be teachers, but almost all of them were first tier soulcrafters. Most had well-developed soulhomes, yes, just not what he'd expected from instructors. There were three Archcrafters, plus Nanjuma. Famaj and perhaps a young woman with a forked staff were near ascending. Among the others, only a few stood out for an unusual weapon or garment, implying they had come from some distance away. Everyone on Tatian had light hair, but a few had a strawberry blond color he hadn't seen before.

"At last, everyone is organized and in place!" Nanjuma leapt from the others to the top of the nearby building, not as a show of force, but simply because he couldn't contain himself. "We hope you have enjoyed our hospitality, but I hope you will relish our joyful work even more! Unless you choose to leave, all of you will be here for a full year from this date."

So they'd planned a year of studying? Last time, it had taken Theo about a year to become an Archcrafter, but he was certain he could do better this time. If the contest for the Archcrafter sublime materials took place at the end, it would be too late for him to really need it. For the moment, he put his plans on hold and continued listening.

"Now, I know that some of you are suspicious of our generosity, so let me tell you exactly how this will benefit all of us. Landguard specialists have confirmed that the waters between worlds are at peace again, and there have been no more surprise guests. However, the small cracks that opened will mean that demon attacks will increase over this broad area, to levels that we have not seen in years.

"Thus we can help each other! In addition to stopping some of the attacks, you will be trained by some of our promising young soulcrafters. Teaching is an excellent way to learn, so together we will increase the capacity of this entire region, even if most of you find your way back to your own worlds."

Though Theo had more or less suspected that was the case, it was good to confirm, and also explained why the line of instructors was relatively weak. If they really had a surplus of sublime materials, it was a viable strategy. Not every situation could be a win-win, but Tatian was good at finding them.

"Now, you are coming to us with hugely varying levels of understanding, so I must ask for your patience!" Nanjuma waved down toward the teachers and one ducked into the nearest building. "This first class will surprise some and bore others, but it will allow us to place you in the appropriate group. To ease the pain a little bit, we'll be distributing sublime materials and blueprints!"

The teacher returned followed by several villagers, each bearing a set of sublime materials. Enough to get started, and not a trivial gift, but nothing likely to change anyone's life. No, despite what was said about easing the pain, this was fundamentally a test.

Everyone seemed to be given exactly the same set of materials, so Theo waited his turn. The basket included low grade stone and hearthtree wood, but more importantly a set of seeds and sublime materials to help them grow. He'd lacked the latter because he assumed they'd be given eventually, so he eagerly took each and sent them to his soulhome.

That left only the blueprint, which he regarded dubiously. It laid out a fairly simple single floor soulhome for a Farmguard - competent, but nothing special. Though using a blueprint was obviously better than just soulcrafting haphazardly, Theo thought they could actually be detrimental: use of them didn't teach any of the critical principles of the art. They could produce strong soulcrafters, just soulcrafters who didn't fully understand why their soulhomes were built as they were.

"All of you are familiar with sublime materials, but do you actually know what they are?" The new voice came from an old woman, so short she barely came up to Nanjuma's chest. Instead of using cantae to strengthen her voice, she simply asked the question softly and waited for everyone's attention to turn to her. "Well? Does anyone want to venture a guess?"

"They're objects touched by the gods," one of the Fithans answered, drawing immediate ire from several others. But the old woman calmly spoke over the chaos.

"Perhaps. Others say they are echoes of the first song of creation, or normal materials enriched by the waters of chaos that flow between the Nine Worlds. I asked if anyone knew, in part because I certainly do not. I take a more practical approach." She reached into her sleeve and revealed a flamefruit in one wizened hand. "For our purposes, sublime materials are anything that resonates with cantae."

There was a long pause before Nanjuma eventually jumped in to ask the next question himself. "And what is cantae, grandmother?"

"The power that undergirds all worlds. Some say that it exists within all life, but this is false. Cantae is a power of reality itself, completely absent in most plants and animals, while greatly concentrated in even dead stone. It is one constant that exists in the same form across all worlds."

Though Theo was beginning to let his attention wander, since this lecture was remedial for him, her final words distracted him. Because they weren't quite true: cantae didn't exist on Earth. As far as he could tell, nearly none of the phenomena in the Nine Worlds did. That was a mystery he didn't think he'd easily crack, not when he had so many higher priorities in the form of Vistgil and his demons.

"As you will soon find, sublime materials resonate with cantae in different ways. For those of you capable of using it, the most notable fact - common to all sublime materials - is that they can be absorbed into your soulhome. Now, I hope that most of you are already familiar with them, but for those who are not..."

Theo let the words slip into the back of his mind, barely paying attention as he shifted into his soulhome. He might as well get some work done, though not just work: if any of the instructors were watching, they would be judging his capabilities. Being completely comfortable absorbing sublime materials and soulcrafting might put him ahead of some, but he needed something more impressive than his pile of rocks.

So he sat down and began to set up the boundaries of a vestibule. It wasn't a common type of chamber to find in soulhomes, and in his past life he hadn't even heard about them until he'd become an Archcrafter himself. The small room could store cantae, but more importantly it was excellent for transferring it. Building one would let him absorb it more rapidly, use it with less loss due to inefficiency, and even release it more forcefully.

Of course, at the moment his door and vestibule led to absolutely nothing except an empty clearing. It was certainly an irrational way of going about things, so he could only hope anyone worthy of being his instructor would understand. No matter what he did with a central plant, foundation, or walls, the vestibule would be a helpful addition, so it was an excellent use of his time while he waited.

"But not all sublime materials contain cantae within themselves, nor do they resist it. Certain classes are known primarily for generating cantae, and it is to those that we now turn." The words broke through his own thoughts and Theo found himself paying attention again as they moved to the flamefruit seeds.

Most of the lesson was straightforward, but he used it as an opportunity to reflect. Useful soulhome chambers generally required three kinds of sublime materials: one to generate cantae, one to protect and store it, and one to make it more useful.

The flamefruit would in theory grow into a tree that generated plenty of cantae and sunstone was an excellent material for building the walls. But to be an effective soulcrafter, he needed more than that. Using the hearthtree wood for other features would strengthen him a bit, but not substantially. He needed a truly rare sublime material to form the heart of his main chamber. His plan was to acquire an exceptionally hard stone or wood and place it as a centerpiece. Using it, the cantae he stored could make his body more durable than steel.

"You may find all of this a bit confusing," the old woman continued, "but within your soulhome, everything will be clearer. Cantae don't operate by distant spiritual truths, they're deeply intuitive. Will thin boards with holes make good walls? Of course not! In just the same way, in your soulhome, walls that appear weak to you will leak cantae. Everything operates according to your deepest rational intuitions."

Though that was a good lesson for beginners, Theo had found that was only true up to a point, because intuition wasn't always a good guide to the real world. Not to mention, some worlds didn't operate by rules that seemed normal to him. Some of the most valuable sublime materials he'd ever seen had been from Siata, where plants naturally floated in the air and grew without sunlight. His plans would require him to cross the Nine, which meant learning the "obvious" rules of many worlds.

Nothing in the lecture helped him with his problem. Theo stopped working on the vestibule walls and instead walked to the center, examining where he'd planted the flamefruit seed. Far from having sprouted, it seemed to be dead. Just to be sure, he planted a brand new seed and gave it water and fertilizer. He had a feeling that it was going to die as well.

That had something to do with the fundamental foundation of the soul, which was being skipped in the introductory lecture... and had caused him trouble in his past life. Not everyone was equally suited to every sublime material for reasons that weren't entirely clear. That was the main reason he was avoiding soulcrafting his core chambers: he needed something perfectly compatible.

But the flamefruit were just a temporary measure, not an important part of the blueprint that he'd come up with together with Brigana. He could try different plants on Tatian until he found one that felt right. Whatever it was, it would need to be compatible with the solarstone base and walls, providing a rock solid foundation for his soulhome in the future.

As the lecture drew to a close, Theo returned from his soulhome. Around him, he saw that some were struggling to absorb the sublime materials, or their soulcrafting auras were wavering weakly. Hopefully he'd proved that he had mastery of those basic techniques, which would prevent him from getting placed into the lowest groups that would repeat fundamentals and no doubt end up pushed toward Farmguard blueprints. Beyond the basics, however, there was no point showing off - he needed to look alert and potentially useful to the instructors. Many others already had soulcrafted first floors, after all.

"Now, since you have all been such good listeners, we will move on to choosing new families!" Nanjuma rubbed the old woman on the back as he stepped up beside her. "We know you are all far from home, even those of you from Tatian, and we did not want you to be alone in a formal school. For that reason, you will all be placed in small family units that can support one another in more than soulcrafting."

Theo managed not to roll his eyes: Tatians might phrase it that way, but there was no getting around the fact that they were choosing teams. The instructors moved onto the stairs and looked over the group of students carefully. As Nanjuma explained how they would be chosen, Theo realized that it was going to be like schoolyard games: picking teams one at a time. It struck him as oddly competitive for Tatian, but at least he wouldn't be matched based on their assumptions about personality.

The first instructor was an older man who chose Navim without any hesitation. That made sense, as the Mundhin held both decent strength and very useful abilities. As Navim moved forward to stand beside his instructor, Theo looked to the others, wondering as to their strategies. If they had information about their previous fight, then Fiyu would no doubt be picked immediately. Theo himself wasn't sure how long it would take and sat in irritation, hoping his progress wouldn't be inhibited by childish politics.

To his surprise, the second pick was a young Deuxan woman. She didn't feel exceptionally strong, but a glance at her soulhome revealed an intricate web of silver and glass. Perhaps access or familiarity with new sublime materials was being prioritized? Then again, he might not have taken the Deuxan woman's proper measure.

Famaj stepped up as the third instructor and Theo found himself waiting, irritated at his own anticipation. It might not make sense for Famaj to choose Theo first, but he had seen Fiyu in combat. That would shift the nature of the choosing, making him hope that he would be skipped until Famaj could choose him during the second selection.

Except Famaj didn't choose Fiyu.

Instead he picked a Tatian man who Theo hadn't even noticed until that moment and now reconsidered. It was true that he held a lot of cantae, but his soulhome was essentially just a large stone dome. Good for gathering cantae, but not much else. Comparing him to Fiyu's efficacy... Theo had to consider whether or not he was biased, and he was definitely too involved.

Next, an unassuming Tatian woman chose Magnafor. That was an odd choice, leaving him considering whether or not he had missed some essential element of the exercise. Perhaps Magnafor had further distinguished himself, or perhaps-

"The young Ichili woman, if she would be so kind."

Fiyu gasped aloud, while Theo quickly looked to find who had chosen her. It was one of the young Tatian women he'd noted earlier: relatively unremarkable, though her clothes were cut for easy movement and her short hair was a whiter blond than average. The most notable thing about her was the staff she carried, a wooden shaft studded with black stones at the bottom and along the forking top. It felt like a soulcrafter armament, though not one he knew.

At first he worried that he'd need to herd Fiyu in that direction, but she understood what they were doing and reluctantly went to stand with the other woman. The two of them spoke to each other too low to hear while other group leaders continued to choose their teammates.

Most of those were unremarkable, leaving Theo increasingly irritated as he wasn't chosen. He noticed that many of the leaders chose the Tatian soulcrafters, even though they weren't generally among the stronger candidates. Could it really be simple provincialism?

He realized that one of the team leaders actually wasn't Tatian, instead a Deuxan man wearing similar robes. In the warm sunlight his hair looked Tatian blond, but it was actually silver. Whatever the case, he broke the pattern by choosing a Fithan woman who Theo judged was probably the strongest person remaining, so that was logical enough.

As the second round began, Theo wondered just how long he would have to wait. When it was Famaj's second turn to pick, Theo tried to make eye contact with him... only for Famaj to choose one of the last Tatian candidates. Remaining with the others, Theo reflected on the inadequacies of Tatian culture. The downside of the all-encompassing warmth was that their loyalty was only skin deep.

Then he noticed that Fiyu was pointing directly at him. It seemed to be a disagreement between the two, though he still couldn't hear any of their words. Theo stayed still and tried not to respond in any way as the Tatian woman regarded him with a cool skepticism he didn't often see in that world.

"You, then." She wasn't as polite as before, but she did point at him. Theo nodded and rapidly moved to join them, trying to decide if this was really cause for irritation or if he was being childish. His ideal team would have included Famaj and Navim, but he'd have to make do.

Once he drew close, Fiyu smiled between them and the Tatian woman regarded him without expression. "She said that your name was Jake?"

"Yeah. And you are?"

"My name is Nauda. I trust that we can work together as a wholesome community despite the nature of this choosing."

Her statement was so generic he gave her a second glance, but he saw nothing but a bland Tatian smile on her face. Resolving to keep an open mind, Theo stepped behind her alongside Fiyu to let the choosing continue, though several others had chosen in the meantime.

Nauda continued to look through the candidates thoughtfully and Theo didn't have anyone to suggest. On her third opportunity, she chose a Tatian man named Kuber without hesitation. Though not the most polished soulcrafter, his soulhome had an unusually broad foundation that was worthy of note. Of all the instructors, only Nauda, the old man who went first, and a middle-aged woman made choices that Theo thought were rational.

After the third round, it was obvious they were down to less ideal candidates. Of course Tatian society couldn't allow anyone to be last, so the pattern changed and those remaining were scattered at once. Their group ended up with five more people: two Tatians, two Fithans of opposite coloration, and a Deuxan. None of them struck him as showing any particular potential as soulcrafters, though he had to admit that some people might think the same of him.

"You all have your new families, yes?" Nanjuma looked over them all with his hands on his hips and a smile of immense satisfaction on his face. "Wonderful! We will be providing instructors, classes, and materials at various times, as well as competitions later in the year. But your group leaders will decide which are most important for your family, so please take care of one another!"

Then part of his growth was in the hands of Nauda - it was a small comfort that she was open to being swayed, given that she had listened to Fiyu. It was obvious that the Ichili woman considered their group much too large and shrank behind him... but also behind Nauda. Odd that the Tatian woman seemed to have earned a little trust so quickly.

With that, the ceremony was over and the groups began to split up. Theirs only made it a short distance away before the bluish Fithan regarded Nauda with a scornful look. "What gives you the right to decide how we soulcraft? I can't trust in your judgment, given how you chose me last."

"Please forgive me." Nauda clasped both her hands and bowed deeply. "I was judging not your considerable strength, but your flexibility in soulcrafting. I admired how you showed great facility with stone but I was deeply troubled that we could not provide you with better natural materials."

Her abject apology seemed to mollify the man, but Theo found himself considering. Despite what she said, the Fithan wasn't particularly strong, so he couldn't decide if that was poor judgment or simply Tatian flattery. But her other statement, if accurate, was a sign of a clear strategy: she wanted a group that would be capable of rapidly soulcrafting the sublime materials available to them. A perfectly sound strategy, if a bit boring.

"The remainder of the day will be devoted to introducing instructors, organizing classes, and familiarizing ourselves with one another." Nauda smiled warmly at all of them. "I hope that we can work well together, but I will not impose on you tonight. Please restrain your celebrations so that we can begin in the courtyard tomorrow at dawn."

So all he needed to do was suffer though one more night of Tatian hospitality, then the training could begin. Theo told himself that he could master even this challenge.