“It was just a reverie, messing with my memory,

causing thoughts to stray to you and you alone,

but while it held my every, want and wish and sense in me,

I knew my love for you had grown.”

“Yes! That’s it!” Anla exclaimed, laughing. “My father used to hum that tune and try to get my mother to dance, especially when she was in the middle of something.”

“It’s about thirty years old and was very popular when I was growing up,” Raulin said. “Everyone knew ‘Reverie’: the poor, the rich, the young, the old. You could probably find some mushroom farmer gathering truffles with his pig in the north that knew that tune.”

“That might be my favorite song. And I didn’t know it had words to it.” She rolled to her side and propped her head up with her hand. “You sing beautifully.”

“Thank you. I wasn’t trained in it, but I think having a musical ear helps.”

She moved next to him and laid her head on his chest. He put his arm around her making sure not to disturb the flowers she had strung in her hair, a side crown of wild beauty that was more her than anything he’d ever seen her wear.

It was nice, being content. Raulin found he was rarely in that state, of peace and happiness. Never in between contracts, never when traveling, rarely sober. He’d never really had the time or opportunity to fall in love with someone and he was finding he really enjoyed it.

The tranquility also afforded him time to think. And while their relationship hadn’t escalated, he still thought of what would happen in a few months when the spell lapsed. He didn’t want to wait a few years before seeing her again. He didn’t want to sail to Noh Amair without her. (And Tel, and even the wizard, if he was being honest.) He wasn’t sure what that would mean or even if she would be interested in something beyond what they had right now. But he did think about it. A lot.

She took in a deep breath. “I smell bacon”

“Must be that the wizard’s cooking breakfast.”

“Why do you still insist on calling him ‘the wizard’ or ‘Wizard’? He has a name, you know.”

“He does?” he said, lifting his head to grin at her. “I think it’s because I like to give people who bother me a nickname. And while he doesn’t annoy me anymore, it’s sort of stuck. He doesn’t seem to mind it.”

“Oh? Is that why you call me ‘mezzem’?”

“That’s a title of respect., since you are a young, unmarried woman. And I don’t just give nicknames to the irritating. If you want one, I’ll call you ‘ainle‘.”

“Yeah?” she said, smiling. “You think I’m beautiful?”

“Some things are beyond thought and are just known.” He sat up, holding her gently so that she came with him. “And right now I know I need bacon.”

Tel was slumped against a tree. Al was crouched before the fire, holding a pan over with one hand and practicing a move Raulin found unfamiliar. He watched as he slowly shifted his weight from one leg to the other, extending it straight to the side before starting the process again. Like some deranged crab, he circled around the fire, occasionally flipping the sizzling bacon in the pan.

Raulin looked at Anla and put his finger up to the mouth of his mask, then crouched low behind Al. He followed him for a few repetitions of the move, then said, “What are you doing?”

Al’s hands flew up in surprise, tossing the bacon and the pan to the ground. “Come on!” he yelled, turning to face Raulin.

“Okay, I’ll take the dirty bacon.” He unclicked his mask and chewed on the bacon after dusting it off. “What were you doing?”

“I was practicing crouching, should I ever need to pick up my ax quietly.”

“If you’re in a situation like that, you need to make sure you’re keeping a watch all around you for someone sneaking up.” Al’s face dropped. “I mean, I’m impressed by your initiative. And that’s a great use of your time.”

“It doesn’t end, does it? All the pointers and doing things wrong.”

“No. That’s why I practice and stretch every day. If you want to learn how to fight, and fight well, you have to make a lasting commitment. Every day.”

“When will I be good enough?”

“Good enough for what? What are you hoping to get out of your training?”

“I know it sounds silly, but I want to be as good as Kiesh the Black.”

“It does sound silly, but only because he’s not real, Wizard. Try for a reasonable goal.”

“I want to be able to deal with any situation that’s thrown at me.”

“I’m not even at that point. But, you can train like you have been and wait for an opportunity. Don’t forget that you already have your education as a wizard and your experience as working as one.”

Al nodded sadly, unconvinced. Raulin noticed this and he felt for him. “Let’s try this. I’m going to expand your training, starting today. When we’re on the road, I will sneak up on you and stay behind you for three seconds. If you feel me, raise two fingers. If you haven’t by the time three seconds have passed, I will tap you on the shoulder.”

“What will that do?”

“It will raise your awareness of your surroundings. Most people can feel when someone is nearby, even if they can’t hear or see them; hopefully you’ll be able to sense someone better. And I’ll think of some other forms like that to help your fighting.”

“Wait, that helps? How does that help?”

“Oh, knowing exactly where your opponent is, and his accomplices, is very important. I wasn’t messing with you, Wizard.” He paused and held up his finger and thumb a half-inch apart. “A little. I was messing with you a little. But I was wondering how well your awareness was, too.”

“Okay,” he said, brightening a little. “Um, eggs are done. Are we going to wake Tel?”

“Tel has requested to skip his porridge while he’s across the sea.”

Al eyed the grivven. “I have to wonder what that’s like, to be here but somewhere else at the same time.”

“Exhilirating, from what he’s told me. A little frightening, since he’s exposed here, and somewhat limiting, but a great tool. I’ve always wondered what it was like to shift something in you and be able to pick up boulders or heal someone or run fast.”

Al handed a plate to Anla, who returned from washing at the stream and sat next to him. “Depending, it feels like your body is a sponge filling with water. The Unease feels jittery, quick, crackling, snappish. The Calm feels heavy, warm, pleasant, expansive. At least from what I remember.”

“What does it feel like now?”

“I feel different than when I was untapped into magic. Then I felt normal. Now I feel…” He searched for words. “…blurred. Maybe like a sheet that’s constantly having the wrinkles smoothed out.”

“You dismissed it before, but what if you are cyclical?” Al laughed and Raulin continued. “No, I mean it. Just consider it.”

“It’s exceedingly rare, once a generation, they say. So, if Amandorlam has roughly fifteen hundred wizards a decade and there are five schools with about the same output, you’re looking at fifty thousand or so wizards on Yine at this moment. And those are the ones that go or went to school. We’re talking a potential of one in a hundred thousand.”

“So?”

“Well, there already is one. His name is Kytren Bi Teleure and he’s from Sonder.”

“I know, I’ve met him,” Raulin said.

“You have?” Al asked, astonished.

“Yes, he wanders from court to court, I’ve been at courts. He’s nice enough, didn’t seem full of himself at all.”

“You’re not thinking about it, though,” Anla said. “As impossible as it sounds, what if you were cyclical? What would that look like?”

Al shrugged, taking a bite of bacon. “There’s not much known about cyclicals, since there aren’t enough of them to study. Kytren is too popular to take the time to answer questions. Um, of what we know, cyclical wizards are a perfect balance between the Unease and the Calm. No magical backlashes, since your body heals itself of those issues. Every ability is supposed to be better, incredible balance, strength, speed.” He swallowed thickly. “If I were cyclical I would have been able to bring Lacront back. I wouldn’t have tried to kill myself. I’m not cyclical.”

“Is it static, then?” Raulin asked. “You moved up the ranks from using the Calm to switching, to cross-switching. What if that changed?”

“That I suddenly moved up after ten years?” He shrugged. “I doubt it.” Before Raulin could asked another question, Al turned to Anla. “What’s your magic like? Is it the same for every spell?”

She grabbed his arm gently and tapped her fingers along it for about ten seconds. “Do you feel that shiver that doesn’t quite come, the tension in your skin, the slight vibration? It feels like that on the back of my neck and down into my shoulders, up into my head.”

Raulin held his hand out and they both laughed as she drummed her fingers along his forearm. “That’s rather nice.”

“Part of my issue with its allure is there are no reasons not to use it, other than my personal accountability.”

“You’re doing well,” he said softly.

“Thank you. And what about your magic?”

“I don’t have…” he began, then stopped. “You mean my mask?”

“I mean your quirks. If you’re going to make Al consider his magic, maybe you should look at your own abilities.”

“Ah, that’s fair, I suppose. What are you mean, specifically?”

“The thing with the clergy,” Al said, also interested. “Rayani, Alistad, Chockwell, maybe some others. They were drawn to you. That only happens with the nobility. And you heal quickly, too.”

“You’re quite charismatic,” Anla said. “You can work a room well. You know people without having to ponder, like Lord Cavrige. And I keep drawing those same tiles for you.”

“So, working backwards, do you believe your piscarin readings, Anla?”

“I don’t know. It’s bizarre that I always draw the ones that say ‘don’t be a trirec’.”

“That’s interpretation and also hardly magical. I’m not influencing your sessions. I knew Lord Cavrige immediately because he’s a memorable fellow. Thank you for the compliment, but charisma hardly means I’m noble. Same with healing quickly. I’d say both my parents were good at recuperating from injuries and illnesses. And I’ve said before that I have a knack with the clergy. Maybe it’s the charisma.”

“You just chided me for not considering my magic…” Al said.

“Well, I was giving explanations for things. But really I was saying this to see if our soothfinder felt I hadn’t considered this before and come to any conclusions other than what I said.”

Both Al and Raulin looked at Anla, who frowned in thought. “You believe all those to be truthful,” she said.

“Now, I have wondered if this has done something to me,” he said, flicking his mask. “Kachilan Merakians have been wearing this metal for a few centuries and they haven’t noticed any adverse effects. As far as I know, I’m the first miartha to wear this. Is it affecting me? Is it seeping into me, giving me better nighttime vision without it or the ability to sense danger?” He shrugged. “I’m not sure. Maybe that’s spilling into other things.”

“That’s interesting,” Al said. “I’m sure Amandorlam would love to do experiments on you.”

“I’m sure they would, but there’s no way I’d step onto that campus.” He looked over at Tel. “I think it’s time we get moving. We’re five miles from Quirr and that will be a good place to resupply and stop for the night.”

And so they dropped the subject. Hopefully that would be their last discussion on that, Raulin hoped.

Anla crouched next to Tel, gently massaging the nape of his neck. They had figured this was the best way to get his attention when his was away. After a minute or so, he took in a lungful of air and opened his eyes with a confused look for a moment. She handed him his breakfast and said, “We’re moving on soon. How was it?”

He sighed. “Still nothing.” He shoveled his food in quickly while the fire was stamped out, the food put away, and the bedrolls tied to packs. They were on the road as soon as Tel’s bowl was cleaned.

“You haven’t found any opportunities?” Raulin asked.

He shook his head. “There’s just so much going on that I don’t know what to do next.”

“Well, what are your goals?”

“Goals? Well, to return things to where they were before I left.”

“That’s too vague; no wonder you’re feeling overwhelmed. How do you hope to accomplish that?”

There was a slight shrug from the grivven.

“Okay, what exactly would returning things to where they were look like?”

“Everyone freed. No changes to the law, or whatever Sheiskan is doing to justify his actions. No ambassadors.”

“Let’s start with the last one, then. How would you get rid of the ambassadors? You’ve already said you don’t want to kill anyone.”

“I don’t know how to make them go away.”

“What would cause you to leave a place you were visiting? Say you could leave Gheny, what would happen to make you flee?”

Tel thought about this and came up with several answers as they walked: no interest, being forced away (as he had been from Ouyid Island), feeling unwelcome, respect to the culture and people.

“All great answers, but nothing you can really affect, unless you were able to destroy whatever they were trading. Let’s try something else. How did you feel when you first stepped onto Gheny?”

“Confused. Alone. Scared.”

“Scared,” Raulin repeated. “Scared is not a strange emotion to have when in a foreign place. You knew the language, but you think differently than Ghenians do.”

“They’re concerned with things I’d never considered or even knew existed, but they care little for other things I hold dear.”

“And that’s precisely how those ambassadors feel. Your people are different from their people. They are already uncomfortable. The only thing that makes them feel secure is your brother and his people and the trust they have created. You need to break that trust, if possible, and you need to make them feel afraid to be in Nourabrikot. Anla? Al? What are some things that frighten you?”

“Ladybugs,” Anla said quickly.

“Oh, yes, yes. Bugs are creepy. Tel, when the ambassadors are sleeping, you need to encourage insects to slip into their sheets and bite them.”

“I don’t want to hurt them, though.”

“Nothing poisonous or lethal. Just a large amount of insect bites, or a few big ones that can’t be explained.”

“Bats,” Al said.

“Bats. Bats…bats. Ah. Whenever the ambassadors are walking around, have things touch them that they can’t explain. You can control the wind or make vines that can wrap around their ankles. It will be unsettling to them.

“Something that I am perturbed by is when I see a change that should take a long time to happen, but seems like it happened quickly. There was a water stain on the ceiling in a hospital I stayed in when I had the black flux. I was there for several weeks, but the fever made it seem like I was there for two or three days. I was frightened out of my mind by that stain that seemed to go from coin sized to chest sized in a few hours. Imagine going to sleep and waking up with vines all over your walls or things moved around your room that can’t be explained.”

They thought of other things during their journey, their lunch, and later as they approached Quirr. The farms along the road were just starting to be tilled and planted, but the trees were blossoming with heady scents, still scant and yellow-green in color. In the distance, past several animal and crop farms, a large town popped up in the flat landscape. Off-set was a modest castle, impressive in height to the two-storied town, but not extravagant in size.

Al and Tel quietly discussed meals and the wizard checked Tel’s pack for what foodstuffs they had and what they needed. Anla and Raulin hung behind them and stole touches and gestures, kisses separated by his mask.

The first two stopped in a general store filled with early produce, unaware that Anla and Raulin found a conspicuous copse of trees to kiss properly under. When they returned to the main road, they discovered that town constable had drawn steel and was gesturing for the two of them to join Tel and Al.

“Is there a problem, sir?” Raulin asked, knowing full well that there was one.