Negli's Morning (around 3rd month of Autumn, 12th day, 5th hour, morning)

  Negli glanced at the clock. Five in the morning. He rubbed his temples — his head throbbed, his thoughts were sluggish — but the results were finally in. Now came the hard part: presenting them.

  That was a problem in itself. The sixteen separate measurements he'd taken resisted easy explanation. Averaging the data, as the method suggested, would only lead to the same flawed conclusions A. and D. had already offered. He needed to convince Berenji that he had genuine insight into the matter. He reached for a sheet of fine paper, sharpened his quill, and filled the inkwell with black ink.

  Where to begin?

  He imagined all of Berenji's titles lined up at the top of the page. Too formal, and he'd come off as pompous and lacking style. That wouldn't do.

  Too short and businesslike would be even worse. It would imply he saw Berenji as an equal — that he took the man's patronage for granted. Berenji would bear a grudge, and he never forgave.

  No, it had to be friendly but respectful. Berenji enjoyed playing the benevolent mentor, so the safest move was to play along. Negli sighed and began to write:

  "Honored Master Berenji,

  I have completed the elemental analysis you entrusted to me, and I must thank you for thinking of me for such a curious case. As suspected, it holds more complexity than it first reveals. The conflicting readings appear to stem from prolonged exposure to the elements of Moon and Death — contamination subtle enough to elude standard interpretation.

  I have enclosed my findings. Diagrams 1 through 3 represent stable results and can be relied upon. Diagrams 4 and 5 remain provisional and may fluctuate depending on depth and nature of the contamination. I will, of course, continue the investigation with the utmost care and report any significant developments as they arise.

  With deepest respect and warm admiration,

  Negli"

  He set down the quill and reread the letter. Polite, warm — but was it flattering enough? He considered adding a few flowery compliments, but decided against it. Negli had no talent for sycophancy, and those who act out of character are often exposed.

  He copied the diagrams onto a clean sheet, adjusting Diagram 5 slightly for dramatic effect, then set both pages aside to dry.

  From the corner of the room came the sound of snoring. His servant, Imke, lay sprawled on a bench, oblivious to his master's efforts. The man had slept through the night, periodically filling the room with that ungodly noise.

  Negli felt a spike of irritation. He — high-born, sophisticated, brilliant — had to stay up all night, while oafs like Imke slept peacefully. But then again, being a servant wasn't exactly a life of leisure.

  "Imke, get up," he said sharply.

  The snoring stopped.

  "Up, I said!" He clapped his hands near Imke's ear. A lesser master might have kicked the man to expedite the process, but Negli reserved physical punishments for disobedience. Imke stirred, blinking at him.

  "We're going back to the Nightshade. Gather my things. I'm going to sleep for five hours — while you deliver a letter."

  Imke stood, groggy and confused.

  "Oh, for gods' sake! Just gather the tools."

  The man began to move, sluggishly. It would take a couple of minutes for him to fully wake up. Meanwhile, Negli slid the dried letter into an envelope, poured sealing wax, and pressed his ring into it. The enchanted ring glowed, hardening the wax instantly and stamping it with his crest. Imke shuffled about, gathering the tools out of order.

  Five minutes later, they left the building and headed toward the Nightshade. Imke had finally become responsive.

  "You bring the letter to whom?" Negli asked. It was the third time they'd gone over it. Repetition was the mother of learning — especially for the likes of Imke.

  "To His Excellency, the Chief Arcanist," Imke mumbled.

  "And at what hour?"

  "Exactly at nine."

  "And if you are early?"

  "Then I wait."

  "See that this is done properly. It is important."

  "Yes, Master," Imke said, stifling a yawn.

  What an oaf, Negli thought.

  Aya's Assesment (3rd month of Autumn, 12th day)

  Kedi was in his study, reading the letter for the second time. The door creacked and Rasa entered, followed by Xia. He put away the letter. Xia sat by his side, Rasa stood in the center.

  "Master," she said courtly.

  "Please seat, Rasa, it's informal." He gave her time to settle and continued: "How's Aya's training going? What's your impression of her?"

  Rasa shrugged. "Well, more or less. She's disciplened, in good health. She didn't lie about her stamina, it seems like she could run all day. It's too early to say more."

  "Is she good with magic?"

  "I see no special talent. But her basics are good. We'll see as the training advances."

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  "Continue training then."

  Kedi seemed finished, but Xia spoke:

  "Could we sent her in patrols already?"

  Rasa raised a brow.

  "Patrols, why?" Kedi asked, also surprised.

  "I want her to integrate, I want people to know her."

  "Won't it interfere with her training?"

  "Actually," Rasa said, "It it's a couple of times a week, it won't hurt. Patrols are rather demanding, they can serve as physical."

  "Let's try it then, two days a week she goes on patrol." Xia said.

  Rasa nodded.

  "But you need to ask Kemi, he does the schedule."

  "I'll tell him," Kedi said.

  Aya the Southerner

  After finishing her practice, Aya stopped by the aviary to check on Ixi, then headed to the lounge. She grabbed a quick bite from the kitchen and sat down to eat.

  "You're Aya, right?"

  A young guard slid into the seat across from her.

  "U-mu," Aya mumbled, mouth full.

  Another guard joined him.

  "I'm Togwi," said the first.

  "And I'm Tegwi," said the second.

  They looked somewhat alike — both with northern lilac hair and silver-grey eyes. Aya finally managed to chew and swallow.

  "Are you brothers?" she asked.

  "No," said Togwi.

  "Yes," said Tegwi.

  "We're not brothers."

  "But we're brothers in arms!"

  "That's not what she asked."

  "I don't care. I've always treated you like a brother, and now this — "

  "Yeah, yeah. Suck it up. Anyway, how's your day been, Aya?"

  "Good. Just finished practice."

  "You've been running a lot, haven't you?"

  "I guess. I just do what I'm told. Don't you two ever train?"

  "Nope."

  "We're guards. Who's supposed to train us?"

  "Yeah, nobody believes in us. Prejudice runs deep."

  "We're widely misunderstood. Widely. But enough about us — what about you? You're from the South, right? How do you like the North?"

  "It's... nice," Aya offered cautiously. "It feels... relaxed."

  "Relaxed?!"

  "With all these duties?!"

  "Makes you wonder what they do in the South."

  "Yeah, what do you mean by relaxed? Explain yourself!"

  "Well, I can't speak for the whole South — just my mansion. There was more... deference. A servant couldn't just speak to an aide informally — you had to use respectful language. Same for aides, butlers, and up the ladder — warriors, captains, the Master's family. Everyone knew their place. Here, everyone talks to everyone the same way."

  "I'd say it's a matter of politeness."

  "Yeah, northernes are just rude!"

  "We're savages!"

  "We would be polite — if we knew how!"

  "No, no, that's not what I meant!" Aya waved her hands, flustered. "You're not rude! It's just... it was almost impossible to be equals back there. Everyone was someone's superior, and they talked down to anyone below. I like it better here."

  "I think you're mistaken."

  "The North is rotten to the core!"

  "Prejudice everywhere."

  "But hey, at least we don't do sacrifices."

  "Yeah. Aya, did your house do sacrifices?"

  "A couple of times," Aya replied evenly.

  The guards exchanged a look. "Go on," Togwi said.

  No one had ever asked her about it. Should she tell? There was still time to pass it off as a joke, but instead, she took a sip of ale and let the memory come.

  "There was a girl my age — touched by the gods. She was mute and dim-witted. She helped around the house — simple chores — and the Master allowed it. Then one day, she suddenly started crying and babbling nonsense. And from that day on, almost every day she was upset, gesturing, trying to tell us something. No one could understand her. The head maid beat her a few times, but it didn't help. Eventually, the Master said she'd be sacrificed. It was on the summer solstice. That whole day she remained quiet. When the servants bound her to the altar, she didn't make a sound. The Master came forward and slit her throat. She lay there, gurgling, trying to breathe. Her blood flowed down the drain. Then she died. I don't rememeber what happened next. I couldn't see anything, the image of her blood bubbling and flowing stood before my eyes."

  "Wow," Tegwi said after a pause. "That got dark fast."

  "What was the second sacrifice?" Togwi asked.

  Aya shrugged. "I don't know. I was too small, and Mother wouldn't let me watch."

  "I say we sacrifice Togwi. He babbles nonsense all the time!"

  "What are you two doing here?" came Isha's voice from the doorway.

  "Talking."

  "Eating."

  "Mingling."

  "Aya, are they bothering you?" Isha asked. "Be careful. They'll spoil you in no time."

  "See how misunderstood we are!" cried Tegwi.

  "The cruelty!" added Togwi.

  "I'm fine, Isha. They're fun," Aya said with a small smile.

  Isha gave the guards a final stern look and carried the dishes to the kitchen.

  "The prejudice!" Togwi whispered loudly.

  Aya chuckled and said her goodbyes. It was time for Ixi's lessons, and she went to find her.

  Aya and Xia Discuss Agvi

  It was late when Aya headed down the corridor to fetch Ixi for the night. Along the way, she ran into Xia. Graceful and beautiful as ever, Xia looked a little tired.

  "Xia, can we talk for a moment?" Aya asked.

  "Of course, sweetie. What's on your mind?"

  "I was wondering... how do we decide who gets trained as a battlemage?"

  Xia gave a soft smile. "It's a mix — endurance, magical aptitude, physical strength. And Rasa usually has a good sense of how many we'll need."

  "But don't we need as many as we can get?"

  "Usually not. We train just enough to balance the patrol teams. Warriors are paid in silver — we can only afford so many. Still..." Xia's smile faded slightly. "This winter looks like it'll be rough. Honestly, I'm not sure what we'll need."

  Aya frowned. "Couldn't someone train just in case? So they're ready when the need comes?"

  "I suppose so," Xia said thoughtfully. "That's just not how we usually do things. Why do you ask?"

  "Agvi wants to train as a battlemage. I told him to talk to Rasa, but she said we're not training new ones right now — and that he's not quite ready. Does that mean he's not a good fit?"

  "Agvi? The aviary boy? Ah, I see. No, if Rasa said he's not ready, that means she sees potential. She wouldn't sugarcoat it. And every battlemage in House Vemer is expected to work with ravens, so he's already building a useful skill."

  "But he only trains his raven a couple of hours a day. The rest of the time, he's doing chores around the aviary. Wouldn't real training help him get ready faster?"

  Xia gave her a long, thoughtful look.

  "You're not wrong," she said at last. "It's customary for the aviary master to manage everything there, but simpler tasks could be passed to others. Do you think he's talented?"

  "I don't know. But if he's eager to learn, shouldn't we at least give him the chance?"

  "Oh, Aya, you say the strangest things sometimes," Xia said with a smile. "All right. We have a few guards starting basic warrior training soon. I'll see if Agvi can tag along. Basic training is mostly physical — if he handles that well, we'll add magical training. But don't tell him yet — I need to speak with Rogri and Rasa. We'll decide sometime next week."

  "Thank you," Aya said sincerely.

  "You're always welcome, sweetie."

  Xia's smile lingered, but a shadow passed across her face. She studied Aya for a long moment before speaking again.

  "Aya... I wanted to ask you something important. I know you haven't told me the full story about Mink's last stand. Is there something so terrible that you feel the need to hide it? Do you think you're ready to share?"

  "I... I can share. If you could believe me."

  "I'm sure I could," Xia said gently. "Come — let's go to the study. We shouldn't talk about this in the hallway."

  They sat in the study for nearly an hour. Aya told her everything — how she'd been stabbed and left crawling, how she lay bleeding on the pavement, how Ixi had been found. She recounted the battle with the fairies, leaving nothing out. Xia listened without surprise or doubt. The muted lamplight, the softness of Xia's voice, the steady rhythm of questions — it all became hypnotic. The lamp flickered once, then again. Had she forgotten something?

  "Ixi!" Aya gasped, jumping to her feet.

  "What is it?" Xia asked, startled.

  "She's outside! I forgot to bring her in!"

  Xia smiled. "Then run, love. We're done here."

  Aya rushed outside. Ixi was sitting on the roof, and the moment she saw Aya, she leapt onto her shoulders. She was light, but made sure to dive-bomb Aya and sink her talons into the hug just enough to prickle through the jacket. Equal parts happy and annoyed at being forgotten, Ixi clung to her all evening — but refused to learn a single word.