While it is impossible to falsify a stone’s power without access to one, it is startlingly simple to fake a stone’s presence in another so completely that it's impossible to discern from simple observation. So long as the individuals involved maintain their facade without faltering, it is possible for such a deception to continue for years without ever being found out.

In nearly all such cases, their ultimate downfall comes with the birth of their child. For however skilled their deception, coupling with an unstoned cannot produce a childstone.

-Deceptions Unmasked

Desten 3 was not waiting for me in the arrival area of the Utrenad touring zone. He wasn't waiting for me at all. I didn't even see him. He had to be somewhere around, but if so I lost him in the collective press of arrivals and departures.

I didn't know where he'd be staying. I didn't know if he'd show up to any of the events. I wasn't sure if I could continue attending them. I had left the circuit for some weeks, but if there were restrictions that required attendance then I didn't know what they were. I might be kicked out, but that would be my own fault.

My clothing was long gone, left behind in Oros when I flew off without a plan. I doubted they'd have held it for me, and I didn't want to go back there anyway. It had been fairly expensive, provided by Desten 1 and Reirn Ushan. I felt incredibly out of place in my commoner outfit. But I couldn't hire a tailor to have anything ready soon enough even if I could afford to do so. I needed to find Desten 3, not make a favourable impression on the other nobility.

After all, they already had one Astesh scandal to gossip about. What was one more?

I spent the afternoon wandering around the city, admiring the Utrenad architecture. They had a similar style to Varon, but with the inclusion of wave and sunlight motifs. I passed an unreasonable number of shops with goods I'd have gladly purchased had I any money. Even knowing my incredibly insufficient funds, I entered several just to look around and pick out which objects I'd have taken home if I had a home to take them to. I found a lovely hardbound journal with sea monster scales for ornamentation and thought it would make a perfect gift for Desten 3.

Apparently, Utrenad was heavily involved in trade. Perhaps not as heavily as the Metako were, but they were a marketplace like none I'd ever seen before.

I managed to continue distracting myself for long enough that I didn't start truly worrying about my upcoming encounter with Desten 3 until an hour before the opening party was scheduled to begin. But the moment I realized it was getting close, my worry flicked into a full gallop. What if he never wanted to see me again, like Pel? I hadn't done anything to Desten directly, from all I could tel the only thing that changed was my total breakdown in Leetan. But he could forgive me for that, right? One instance of absolute panic didn't really mean we had to never be friends again, did it?

I worried, and I paced, and I wished I had money. Once this was over, I needed to see about finding a position that could at least cover basic necessities. I may be out-line, out-family, houseless if Varon stopped protecting me, but surely there was something I could do to earn a living. Not every noble sat around all day. I didn't actually know any who did. Desten 1 was always off being in charge of soldiers or whatever, training for potential future incursions. Desten 2 practiced verdis like it was his own personal crusade. Desten 3 was probably the closest to doing-nothing of anyone I'd met, and he wrote and sold books that would put my longest commissions to shame.

I could only put it off so long. I approached the gates, and no one seemed inclined to stop me. I heard whispers and knew they'd be pointing out my rugged clothing without any house affiliation, perhaps putting together this Astesh with the one who'd run around like a crazy person at a skylights display, perhaps wondering if that disgraceful behavior had gotten me kicked out of Varon.

I ignored them and searched for an isolated table within easy distance of the food and people to talk to. There were several such tables scattered around, and I checked each for Desten 3. But he wasn't there. At least he wasn't sitting with his books and papers spread around him like I'd expected. He might be standing, walking around, or coming in later. Still, I couldn't help feeling lonely and purposeless. If Desten weren't even here, what could--

Someone walked in, glowing entirely with lines of light that crisscrossed over him as though he'd painted his entire body in cyan light. I turned and stared, the absolute brilliance of his appearance attracting attention irresistibly. A few others were staring as well, but most of the Utrenad seemed to completely ignore the glowing newcomer. I knew it was fashionable to accent one's outfit with careful patterns of power, but this felt like too much. I couldn't even see his face, he looked like nothing but a light construct given physical form and stability.

One of the other new touring attendees subtly poked at his back as he walked past, appearing surprised when he paused to sigh before continuing on his way.

"Who is that?" I heard someone whisper.

"Desten. Haven't you heard of him? He's rather famous."

I sidled closer to the conversation. I did see how Desten Utrenad could be ruled out as a suspect. There was nothing yellow about his power, nothing subtle at all.

"Why is he--"

"He's been physically paralyzed since he was born. Without his power, he wouldn't be able to do anything."

I stared, my confusion turning to awe. He was moving his entire body with his power? That was incredible. I couldn't imagine how to use my power to physically move my body, let alone so smoothly it looked indiscernible from normal. I did see why he wouldn't be able to travel well. That much constant strain on his power would all but preclude any other use of it.

Well. He'd already been off the list, but now he was definitely absolutely off the list.

But where was Desten 3? I wanted to ask around, but everyone I approached sidled away as though I were contagious. I considered trying to draw some Metako symbols on my tunic or something, but I didn't know how to use my power in that way. Instead, I found a quiet corner and lurked by the entrance in case Desten 3 showed up late.

He didn't show up at all. I stayed until the very last guests departed and servants started clearing away the detritus, and still no sign of him.

Maybe he'd taken a break. Gone home. I should check in Varonhold. I knew his address, I could find him easily enough.

Yes. That's what I'd do.

I slipped away and oriented myself northward, slipping into the higher lanes and pushing my speed up higher and higher as I raced toward the first city I'd lived in as a noble.

It felt strange entering by air. Even stranger to effortlessly shift between lanes as I flew in minutes what had taken me most of an hour to walk. Mother was right. I hadn't gained nothing from my time here after all.

I landed outside Desten 3's door and stopped, trying to figure out what to say. I'd agonized over it the whole trip over and still hadn't settled on anything. Should I apologize? Act as though nothing had changed? Treat him as an old friend?

I stood a bit straighter, then knocked. He might not even be home, but I had to try.

"One minute," he called from inside, and his voice made me smile. I'd missed him.

Then he opened the door and froze uncertainly.

"Hi, Desten. Been a while. Do you have a few minutes? I have some things I wanted to discuss with you."

"Astesh! Where have you been? What are you wearing?"

"Well, you know I was researching Destens for a project; well, I decided I also wanted to research commoners, so," I gestured at myself. "I went undercover."

I wasn't sure why I said it, but I'd been lying for so long that adding one more to the pile seemed to hardly matter. I wasn't going to risk telling the truth ever again. I was lucky to escape Pel with my life, and I had no desire to go through anything like that ever again.

To my surprise, Desten's face lit up. "Wonderful! I, well, honestly I hesitated to bring up the subject with you, but I've been thinking for a long time that we need to be more inclusive of commoners in our policies. I've been working with Desten Varon, eh, the alchemist, I mean, not the verdis player. Well, obviously our progress is a bit stalled at the moment. But, I think there might be a way to solve the marriage problem."

I smiled, wondering why I'd been so worried. That was Desten, just diving right into whatever topic interested him at the moment. He wouldn't hold a grudge; of course he wouldn't. He'd just be glad to have someone to talk to again.

"Want to come in? Do you have time?"

"I have nothing scheduled whatsoever. I was surprised not to see you in Utrenad. You decided to quit touring early?"

He shrugged. "It wasn't the same without you, and I wanted to check on Desten."

"Which Desten? You say alchemist, I've been through several Destens, but I haven't met an alchemist. Is he the one who's always traveling?"

"No. He's, well, indisposed at the moment. I'd love to introduce you. To be honest, he's the main driving force behind our commoner project."

"Indisposed ... like, unwell?" I asked. Could he be talking about Desten 4?

"Yes," he said, and hesitated. "I suppose you remind me of him. I hope you don't feel like I've been too, well, pushy. He promised to come touring with me to feel people out before we decided on how much I'd put out publicly in my next book. It's very hard to introduce societal change without the society pushing back, you know? But, obviously, that fell through, so ..." he shrugged. "I may have used you as a replacement."

"That's fine. I actually had fun. I wouldn't be opposed to touring with you again sometime. If you'd have me."

"We should all go, once Desten's better. I'm sure he'd love to hear your ideas about commoners." He grabbed a random sheet of paper. "What are your ideas about commoners, for the record?"

"Well, mostly that we need to stop dismissing them, and maybe provide things like mass transportation more publicly. We can transport dozens of people in a few hours the distance it takes them days or weeks to ride. Message services could be expanded to include commoners as well, which would make the territories that much closer knit. When there are mountains that take a week to cross between one city and the next, it's hard to maintain relationships. But for us, that's a simple hour's flight."

Desten looked shocked. "They travel that slowly? Really?"

"What do you expect them to do? They don't have power, they can't fly."

"But—" he broke off. "I guess you're right. There are plenty of ways we can integrate ourselves deeper into their lives. But ... well, there is a problem with that too."

"What problem is that?"

"Proximity. As long as we stay separate, we've been able to mitigate the power loss, but until we actually solve the marriage problem, any integration of nobility with commoners is fraught with danger."

"What is the marriage problem? I've not heard of it."

"Well, you know how it is. People fall in love with each other even when they shouldn't. It has happened historically between warring houses, and you can be sure it'll happen between nobles and commoners if there's the slightest opportunity. It already happens on occasion, and every time that's one fewer line for the future. We can only lose so many before our blood ends up too closely linked and everything will fall apart."

"So wouldn't bringing commoners in be a good thing, then?"

"It should be. But it isn't. That's the marriage problem. If two nobles have a child together, their power will combine to manifest a childstone. Only when it's two nobles. If either one is unstoned, their child will be unstoned."

"Okay. That does sound like a problem."

"So much of what we do is set to keep our lines from being lost, and it's not healthy for the relations between nobles and commoners. But most people tend to see them as, you know, a dangerous problem that we should stay as far from as possible. They do their jobs, provide food and raw materials, and we leave them alone."

"So, you say Desten 4— I mean, your alchemist Desten, is working to solve this problem? How?"

"I have no idea, truly. He's the alchemist. I only know he's traveled a lot, spoken with experts in Oros and Utrenad. He said he was getting close, but then ... well, progress has stalled."

"Is there any chance of him continuing soon?"

Desten shrugged. "I've checked on him every month, and they always say the same thing. He's alive, his power is active, but he's unresponsive. Do you want to see for yourself? I don't really remember all the terms they use about him, if you have questions you should ask them in person."

"Sure, that would be very helpful, thank you."

"Well, you're in this with us, I'm sure he'd want to meet you as soon as he's better. And if there's any chance you know anything that could help..."

"Unlikely, but you never know. I am passably well acquainted with healing herbs."

"Perfect! Then I'll set up an appointment for later this week. Where are you staying? Still in the Reirn's complex?"

"Oh, I don't even know. I— maybe? I'll check."

"Get kicked out for hanging around with too many commoners?" he asked sympathetically.

"Maybe. I haven't been back since before we went touring together."

"Really? So you were downcity the whole time? That's dedication."

I laughed mirthlessly at that. Yes, dedication. Getting beaten to the edge of my life by Pelys, bedridden for weeks; dedication. But I would leave Desten 3 his assumptions. I'd learned my lesson about honesty. Nobles did not appreciate it.

"You could stay here with me. I'll have to move a few things, the guest bedroom is a little full of books at the moment, but I can make space."

"I can't ask you to do that."

"Come on. Don't be stubborn about this. We're going to be working together again, right? Why waste time traveling back and forth when you can stay right here?"

"Well, alright." I didn't really want to prompt a confrontation with Desten 1 or Reirn Ushan. Bringing myself to their attention seemed unwise. The longer I let them forget I existed, the safer I would be. "Thank you."

"Any time. Though..." He grinned. "Want to help me move some boxes?"