THREE HUNDRED FOUR: Stretching Wings
Next Chapter: July 14 (approximate)
Stu’s pet ryeh-b’t had emerged from her egg on a chilly morning, when the forest outside his bedroom window was dark. He’d been anticipating the event and monitoring the egg for days, so he’d been awake and ready when it had begun. The habitat he’d made for her was summer-warm, and her future meals darted around the tiny pond or crawled across leaves and vines. He hoped it would be a rich home for her.
At the first sign of movement, he’d almost sent a message to the family: “Anyone who’s awake, come and see the new life being born.” A ryeh-b’t hatching wasn’t the most important birth that would take place at the siblinghold this year, but it was still a rare small joy in their midst. He knew a few early risers would come to watch with him. They’d bring him a cup of grain tea and comment on the bright patch of red scale that was already showing. Whoever decided to stop by to witness the occasion would probably add something positive to it.
But the ryeh-b’t’s name, and Stu’s reasons for remembering a dead Avowed in such a way, had already been called odd by some of them.
He knew it was odd. And he knew these remarks weren’t mean-spirited. But he wanted to watch Alden break free of her egg and live the first moments of her life as she pleased, without anyone diminishing it for either of them.
So he never sent the message.
He was the only witness to the struggle, the brief rest she took before her final effort, and then her clumsy steps into a bigger world. She’d stretched wings that weren’t quite ready for flight yet, and Stu had felt a puff of air against his skin from her first flap.
She had arrived. Her existence changed everything around her. And Stu knew it first.
His friend, Alden Thorn, was not a ryeh-b’t hatchling. But there was something about this night that was like that morning.
More than once, Stu allowed his thoughts to split to sharpen the present against the memory as he sat under the lantern Alden had planted at the base of the Yatanger triangle’s mound. He was listening to everything the human had experienced in the short time they’d been apart.
They wore the old rings that made conversations private. Stu had been carrying them with him ever since Aymeg Dad had reminded him, needlessly, that they were not toys. Even though the rings didn’t hide actions or the motions of mouths, they were talking and acting as if there was no chance of being discovered. Both of them were taking the vision of Alden sitting on the platform above them as a promise that they were unobserved here.
“She appeared here to talk to me, and she showed you what I look like in the uniform,” Alden had said. “She might not warn me if someone was spying, but I’d feel betrayed if she encouraged me to talk about my secrets while someone was listening in. Well-dressed Alden and conversations like the one I was having with her before you decided I needed to be levitated wouldn’t happen if she knew we didn’t have privacy.”
Stu knew he was right. Even if there had been some miscalculation at first, and those things hadn’t been intended to mean it was safe for Alden to behave as he pleased, the way he’d understood them had now changed that. And Stu’s own agreement mattered, too. They’d both decided the vision of Alden would disappear if someone approached. She hadn’t denied it. The trust of a declared and an unsworn knight wouldn’t be broken over something like this.
“I’m thinking of you as an ‘unsworn knight’ now,” Stu said as Alden finished describing what it was like to sense the presence of his cat. He’d been diligent about his sensitivity training because of Stu’s recommendation.
“And I used it to find him on top of my bed, exactly where he shouldn’t have been!”
He’s still thinking of the cat. He must not have been finished talking about it after all, and I interrupted.
“I’m beginning to notice how I can sense different things happening in the gym, too. Although everything goes so fast in there that I’m not quick enough to…‘unsworn knight’? As a sort of title, you mean? Unsworn Alden.”
“Unsworn Hn’tyon Samuel Alden Thorn,” said Stu. “You’re more than a declared, but your oaths are yet to be completed. If I have a title, you certainly should.”
Alden mouthed the words “unsworn hn’tyon” to himself, then snorted and shook his head. “Who would even use it but you? And I don’t want you to be formal when you say my name.”
“I won’t use it as a title. Only when it comes up. Soon-sworn would be better than unsworn! We’ll use that.”
“I do like that better. Okay, so…now that I’ve told you how the sensitivity training is going, you understand why I need to experiment on the hot spot over there.”
“No,” said Stu.
“But what would happen if you said yes instead? I can feel that spot from all the way over here if I close my eyes and think about it.”
“What would happen is you’d burn a bunch of grass, and we’d have to apologize to whoever has been using this triangle to prepare an environment for their own casting. And that’s without thinking about how you using a Yatanger triangle would be explained.”
“If I used the spell that heats stones instead of the candle lighter?”
“The result would be similar.”
Alden thought for a moment. “What if I called the memory of sunlight, but in that wrong way I told you about—the one that made a huge flash, exhausted my authority, and made the air in my dorm room smell like it was burning?”
“We’d survive if we positioned ourselves correctly within the triangle, but is flash burning everything else in sight really something you want to do?”
He laughed. “No, I don’t. It’s such a nice Rapport now that it’s not sweltering. And when Esh-erdi encouraged me to explore I doubt that was what he had in mind. But it’s something, isn’t it? To be able to figure out that the potential for big heat is there and have more than one spell that can interact with that potential? Three spells! I’ve got three that can make heat.”
He beamed at Stu, holding up three fingers. “Sincerely, though, I wouldn’t have tried it even if you hadn’t shown up. I’m a careful wizard. Respectable. Not like a LeafSong student who runs out of the insight chamber without waiting to thank his instructor at the end of a once-in-a-lifetime learning opportunity.”
“Whose fault was that?!”
“Completely yours.”
“I asked Hn’tyon Esh-erdi what you two were doing and if you were well, but he sent back messages like, ‘Alden is throwing sausage into the river.’”
“For the terackerin. Her name is Ploomp.”
“And, ‘Alden is trying to justify his affection for the number fifteen.’ I know his sense of humor is as it is, but those descriptions of your activities didn’t help me convince myself that you were thinking clearly!”
He let the full extent of his grievance into his voice. He had waited until the lesson was over, but then they were all supposed to thank their teacher in order of seniority. He was going to be one of the final three among hundreds to bow to her and say a few words of gratitude.
“Leaving after receiving instruction like that might be as rude as leaving in the middle of class. I’ve never had to consider which would be worse because I never thought I would be so inconsiderate. Calassa Mom may erupt if she hears of it. I don’t know what I’ll say in apology to the Master. Amantha may assume the best of me and tell her that I must have gone in a rush to Emban’s side. I’m ashamed to hope for that, but I do. When you are welcomed as a hn’tyon by all the Triplanets, I can go explain the truth to her.”
Stu drew closer to Alden’s self so that he wouldn’t misunderstand and think the frustration was directed at him.
This is a way I didn’t know we could communicate with each other a couple of weeks ago.
Alden welcomed the closeness as easily as any friend or family member ever had.
“I didn’t know it was that bad,” he said. “All right. It was eighty percent Esh-erdi’s fault, ten percent yours, and ten percent mine.”
“You’ve given him such a large portion.”
“He’s not here to defend himself,” said Alden. “It’s unfortunate for him, but that’s how it goes.”
He was still smiling. He’d been smiling ever since Stu arrived. He’d told Esh-erdi he wanted to live in the Rapports and work toward defeating chaos. It was an important truth, if not every detail of his truth.
He’d decided it. A stretch of wings.
He’d spoken it. A puff of air.
“If you went now, is there any chance you’d be in time to thank the Master wizard properly?”
Maybe there is a small one. But such a small one.
“I’ll stay here.”
Something more important was happening here.
“That’s good for me,” Alden said happily. “Can I show you my spell abbreviation here, or should we go farther from the triangle?”
“We should be safe as long as we’re not on the platform,” said Stu. “But let’s go down the trail. Just in case.”
“Let’s do it.” Alden sprang up and grabbed the lantern. “When I sent you a picture of myself holding this, you were supposed to think, ‘How natural Alden looks in Rapport III, going for a nighttime walk with his light on a stick where lights belong!’ What did you think instead?”
“That a gorfal lantern resembles some of the weapons you devised in MPE last term, and that you were about to reenact your defeat of Winston for Hn’tyon Esh-erdi’s entertainment. And that, after drinking everything I thought you drank, you might say something like, ‘This is how The Bearer of All Burdens does it!’ to finish your demonstration, leading to unknowable consequences and regrets.”
Alden raised his eyebrows. Vatha and their shadows flapped around him.
“I was letting my fears eat my reason,” said Stu.
“It happens,” said Alden. “I know you know I’m not an idiot.”
Stu nodded.
They headed for the trail. The image of Alden walked ahead of them. Stu was a little disappointed that its coat had been exchanged for the sleeveless blue top Alden sometimes wore, but it still had some pieces of the uniform. And watching the tattoo on its arm change was interesting. Alden had settled on the design and location of the tattoo he’d share with Esh-erdi, but he was enjoying trying different symbols above and below it.
“Are you thinking of adding placeholder designs even if you have no other contracts yet? Would you like to have one that matches with—?”
A glowing gorfal swept toward his face, and he chirped, leaping back before he realized it was going to pass harmlessly over his head.
“This,” Alden said, deepening his voice and striking a strange pose with one fist on his hip and the lantern pointed in front of him toward the twisted remnant of a tree stump, “is how The Bearer of All Burdens does it.”
“Why are you standing like that?”
“To intimidate demons.”
“That’s a stump.”
“One of the burdens I must bear is The Maker of Narrow Ways’s lack of imagination.”
It’s not proper to call me that, thought Stu. Not until I’ve finally done it. Maybe I should say so.
But friends who’d declared did talk this way to each other when no one was around to take offense. Especially as the time drew close. His longing ears had caught similar comments shared between others.
“I was mistaken,” he said. “That’s obviously a demon.”
“Try to fan its feelings of intimidation with your fan,” Alden suggested. “It thinks you’re easy prey because of that chirp.”
Stu took his new casting fan out of his pocket with a flourish and waved it at the stump. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d done something so silly on purpose.
“Here,” he said, passing the fan to Alden when he’d finished intimidating the demon. “I know you want to hold it.”
“I do!” Alden said eagerly, bringing the light closer to see it better. “You did learn the spell, didn’t you? Even though you were worried about me? Being invited to the insight chamber and getting a casting tool sounds like something you’d be excited about under normal circumstances.”
“I learned it well enough to cast it, but I’ll need to observe others who were better focused to capture some of the nuances. It shouldn’t be too difficult to do that. Everyone who was invited will be casting the spell all over campus to show off.”
“Will you teach me how to use the fan someday?” Alden closed the tool and handed it back.
“I will. And we’re far enough from the triangle here if you’re ready to show me your abbreviation.”
He shouldn’t have been able to brighten more, but he somehow managed it. “Promise stick?”
Stu had a few. He held one between them and watched closely as Alden demonstrated his first abbreviated spell.
Two gestures. The second one was a snap that caused sparks to burst around the tip of the promise stick before it lit.
That was a lot of excess sparking for that spell. Is he disappointed?
He wasn’t.
He was grinning as he blew out the tiny flame. He immediately cast the spell again. If anything, there were even more sparks this time.
“What do you think?” he asked eagerly.
“It’s actually an abbreviation and a modification since you changed a gesture. The sparks are on purpose?”
“They weren’t the first time. They just happened when I changed the spell. But I think they’re fun, so I haven’t tried to get rid of them. I want them for this version. I can always cast the other if the situation needs it.”
“I like it,” Stu said. “Personalizing everyday spells makes your wizardry seem more considered. More artful. There’s nothing wrong with doing everything exactly as taught, but I think, for you, showing comfort with your casting might help.”
“Help with what?”
Stu’s thoughts had crawled over the question of how Alden would be viewed and treated by others many times now. If his language was farther from perfection than theirs, if his authority greetings weren’t fluent, if a thousand irritations and indignities dragged against him on his way, people still wouldn’t be able to deny great magical ability. He just needed time to develop it.
“Even during my earliest days on this planet, when I seemed like a lost cause to almost everyone but Father, people still noticed I was gifted at magic,” Stu explained. “At LeafSong, there are many students who I have almost nothing in common with, but we can still talk about spells.”
“Help with fitting in,” said Alden. “That’s what you mean. Storytelling and magic. Learning how to ride terackerins. Learning how to put lanterns in nets.”
“Magic is the most helpful of those. How did your storytelling go?”
“I told an amusing one. Not the one I wanted. I think coming here with Esh-erdi helped me figure out why I couldn’t get any farther with the story I really liked, though.”
“What was the story?”
“I’ll tell you it if there’s time. It’s…early evening according to your LeafSong schedule. And you have class tomorrow. Is Eeaner-ket’s Stuart-focused party still this weekend?”
Stu felt the reminder like cold water in his boots. “It is. He’s hired a company to do things to our student house to make it ready. It will be the last day of the weekend.”
“I like my rings that used to be Eeaner-ket’s rings,” Alden said comfortingly. “I’ve worn them everywhere except gym so far. And my obstacle course class yesterday proved how useful hand protection could be. I broke a finger, almost got hit by a dart, and Ignacio decided I could probably catch knives and hold onto them while he called them back. I need to show you how that worked out. I used my free authority and my skill to make something cool happen.”
******
It was a rare joy. Almost all of it. The new spell, the long walk through a part of Rapport III he hadn’t seen, and hearing Alden speak with growing certainty about what he liked and wanted to have here, as a knight.
He said he felt more like who he wanted to be right now than he had at any point since Stu had first met him.
“It’s not fair how it works, Stuart. I’ve been putting the same amount of effort into doing the right thing and finding a direction all along. And if I look back, I can point at all these moments when I made progress. But every step only moved me forward about a finger’s width, and now, with more solid ground under me, the same steps turn into big leaps. I even got forward progress out of meeting Zakithee-und’h. A little boy trying to <<shun>> me for being an Avowed would have made all my worries worse a few weeks ago, I think. Today it was good for me. He said the problem out loud, and that gave me a chance to chew on it, spit it out, and step over it. It’s still a problem, but I’ll plan for it and carve around it. The life I want is this way, so I’ll do it.”
He kept pulling food out of his bag while they explored the trail, and Stu kept accepting it because he’d only had one meal this morning before entering the insight chamber.
Eventually they turned and headed back the way they’d come. They were nearing the triangle again, and Alden had turned off the lantern a while ago so that the vathas swarming them would leave.
“I’m supposed to tell you about someone,” Alden said. “But there were so many other things to talk about, and this was sad. Yaril-honn’s brother was one of the knights who was lost on Goldbush. Did you already know?”
Yaril.
Her smiles had been nervous and her hair crimped from the braids she’d taken down to prepare herself for her first oath ceremony. Stu had been hoping that he would hear from her ever since. He’d wondered if she had changed her mind about going through with first binding or if she’d changed her mind about casual interaction with an art’h. Or if someone had warned her about him specifically.
In a shameful period of self-pity one night, he’d allowed himself to imagine how such warnings were whispered when he wasn’t around. Did they tell her to avoid attachment to someone who wouldn’t be able to cope with being bound? Or did they tell her that encouraging him was the same as threatening the wellbeing of the Primary and the Quaternary?
But of course she hasn’t kept her promise to send me a message if this is what she endures so soon after her first binding. She must be trapped in pain and turmoil.
“I didn’t know,” he said. “So much has been happening.”
Alden let the news fill the silence.
“I’ve lost people I loved,” Stu said. “But I don’t know what to say to others enduring the same. Maybe it’s because my mind is different. If I’d had a normal childhood…”
“No, it’s not that,” said Alden. “Because I have my own experience, and I don’t know what to say either. ‘What’s happened is shitty. Most days in your life won’t be shitty.’ That’s what I’d say to my younger self if I went back in time. But it’s not poetry or surprising wisdom.”
“Knowing when not to use poetry is a kind of wisdom.” He would hold that in his mind when he called her and say something plain.
“Earlier, when I pretended I was going to hit you with my lantern, you were about to comment on the tattoo.” Alden climbed a few low steps onto one of the sections of the trail that was elevated above the ground. Water often stood here. At present, it was just muddy. “Were you going to ask if I wanted a matching one with you?”
“I was,” said Stu, following him up onto the narrow wooden path. “Do you?”
He didn’t answer immediately. Stu wondered why.
“I would value matching tattoos and an oath of friendship,” Alden said. “But if we want to try deepening toward inesvul, isn’t it redundant? A friendship of oath can’t be stronger than what Esh-erdi and Lind-otta have.”
Someone hopes to deepen with me. Alden wants to hold my place in reality. When I told him it meant more bindings for him, he was afraid…and he still said he would try. It’s been days now, and he’s still talking this way.
“Stuart?”
Stu had stopped to admire every angle of the wonderful question instead of answering the person who’d asked it. Alden was several steps ahead of him now, probably wondering why he was smiling down at the boards beneath his feet.
“It might be unusual to make oaths about friendship as we reach for the bond of knights,” Stu said, hurrying to rejoin him. “I was thinking of simple adornments since you seem to be considering adding placeholders to your arm.”
“I’ll think about that. What if after your party we cast spells together? The last day of your upcoming weekend will be Friday for me.”
“That would be a very good way to recover from whatever happens!”
“You make it sound like they’re going to throw you into a pit and force you to fight the other partygoers. You told me during our last call that it would be fine, but as the dreaded day approaches…”
“It will be fine. After Eeaner is distracted by the others, I may retreat to my room and contemplate. I have much to contemplate.”
“I saw something before you got here that made me think of you and one of your major contemplations,” Alden replied. “Are you tired of walking yet? We could call a flyer.”
“I’m not in a hurry to go back to school.”
******
Alden’s birth tree was being cared for by some of Rapport III’s votaries in a high-maintenance ingredients garden.
“It sounded like such an extreme thing for Esh-erdi to do when I first heard he and Porti-loth had bought my tree and a bunch of dirt and sent it across the universe,” Alden said. The gate to the garden swung open to allow them entry. “But this place is near his house, and my tree is almost no trouble for the votaries compared to everything else here from what I was told. They just put it in its own climate pocket, and they point an eye at it every now and then to make sure it’s healthy. And once I saw it I couldn’t believe it was allowed to live on the edge of a parking lot anyway without people complaining and trying to have it chopped down. It’s safer here.”
The path from the gate was as wide as a road, and though many of the plants were attractive, they were positioned for the convenience of caretakers and ingredient collectors rather than for viewing. Equipment had been left out, ready for tomorrow’s projects. At the end of the path, Stu and Alden had to skirt the edge of a field that was being prepared for future planting.
“A couple of the people who work here live over there. They talked to me and Esh-erdi, and they know I’m allowed to come see my tree.” Alden was pointing across the field toward the house.
“Which one is it?” Stu asked.
There were trees of different shapes and sizes at the back of the field. He only recognized one species.
“Its climate is set to January in Tennessee. Winter. So it’s lost its leaves. But it has some long seed pods hanging from the branches.”
“Oh, that one!” Stu said, spotting it and passing Alden, in a hurry to get a good view. “A lovely little tree! I wish I could see it better. At least it’s not long until sunrise here.”
“It’s not little. That’s a big tree. A big, full-grown tree. Your sense for tree size is heavily biased by a forest full of giants. Don’t rush at it if you can’t see it well.”
Stu crossed into a patch of cold air. His nose stung, and he tapped the warming rings he wore on each hand to activate them. He heard Alden’s steps behind him.
“It’s called a honey locust. I was keeping the light off so that it could make the best impression possible when you finally saw it. Maybe you won’t think the same thing I did…but look.”
The lantern he was carrying lit, and he swung it toward the tree’s trunk.
Stu blinked once at the brightness, and then again as he saw what Alden had wanted him to see. “Thorns,” he said.
Large, multi-pronged thorns grew in clusters from the trunk. They were gray or brown. Sharp. Many of them were as long as Stu’s hand.
Alden nodded at him, then reached to touch one of the thorns lightly.
“My family name in English is the word for thorn. So that was the first thing I thought when I saw them. But then I thought of you. My birth tree grew these sharp spikes to protect itself. It looks weird in some places because it grew so many. Some of them are broken, and it’s not a tree you can hug without bleeding. Doesn’t it remind you—”
Stu knew. He saw it.
“Of my patient creatures,” he said, placing a hand on one of the tree’s less dangerous spots.
“Yes,” Alden said. “Some of the smaller clusters even look like patient creatures. Slightly.”
They do. I know it’s only a coincidence. But they do.
“Two kinds of beauty,” Alden was tapping his fingers against more thorns.“I can’t tell you how significant this seemed when I saw it. I’m glad you thought the same thing. I’d have been a little sad if you didn’t.”
My friend.
“Pick one,” said Alden. “I will too. We can cut them off with a spell.”
“No!” Stu exclaimed. “How could we?”
Green eyes peered at him. “It’s a tree. It’s only two thorns. You used much more than two thorns worth of tree material recently. Remember?”
Stu suspected he was purpling now. He’d been comparing the tree too much with his patient creatures.
“I want us both to have one,” Alden said. “As a reminder. Maybe they could even be an accessory. I could replace the pin I wear on my pezyvas with something thorny if I can figure out how to keep it from stabbing anyone who bumps into me. And we’ll have an ingredient that makes a great Alden-healing potion with us wherever we are. That’s good, isn’t it?”
It was very good.
They both started searching the tree for thorns.
*******
Comments (137)
What beautiful prose, I was smiling throughout the chapter. Thank you kindly Sleyca :)
I'm going to admit when I first read this chapter and now every time after... When I see the first 3 words "Stu’s pet ryeh-b’t" I can't help but think that the point of view will be from someone with a particular view of Alden (human). LMAO
Sacrificing our Soup Watch for sleep (yay hospital inpatient procedure recovery). May all your servings of Soup come the sooner for it. 😀 😴 💤
Oh hi soup. Still sleeping. Will enjoy in the morning.
Soup tastes better when it is cooked low and slow
Is it actually the first time Stu thinks of Alden as „my friend“ and not „soon to be friend“? I like how he becomes surer of himself as Alden does the same and both forge their bond together.
Nah. I don't know if it was necessarily the first, but 250 ends with him referring to Alden as a "true friend."
How does Stu fight? By chanting ranged magic? How did he lose to a mishnen? I hope we get a real Stu battle soon. Now is the best chance we have for a fully powered wizard combat Stu before he affixes. I want to see how strong he really is.
He offers his enenmies food and drink, then hits them with a big stick if they lie to him.
This was really supercalifragilisticexpialidocious💕
I realized on a reread last night that we haven't seen the school trot in any wizards during Alden's gym time to show off his star. With Alden becoming more willing to flex his free authority during gym to improve his skill & help other Avowed, that could have unanticipated results.
Iirc, I think the plan was trot out Alden while wizards were doing gym maintenance. Sleyca has a plan for that, but timing for tight during the Snow? arc, and it got dropped for the time being because Alden was going to be off campus during maintenance time
ETA: 12-24 hours As always, shoot me a message if a chapter arriving later than the listed date means you'll miss it because of an expiring sub. I'll make sure you still get to read it. This applies even when my dates are approximate.
Take your time! Every delay now always feels like it pays off in the beauty and feeling you're putting into this story.
Preliminary excitement?
... And squelched
Next chapter prediction in haiku, or otherwise? Armed with natal thorns Patient creatures Stu and friend Plot party prepping
Victor's Perspective / The Many Secrets He has / Shared with the Beldam
I’m rereading the series and it occurs to me that Aulia might have, or at least, have started with a decent reason for keeping Chainer secret. When Aulia was young, she was functionally kidnapped and dropped in a place where she had to hide from guards and “scientists “ who were trying to figure out how her powers worked. In that context, keeping secrets was a survival skill, not a random whim. She’s lived long enough that her descendants now live somewhere that keeping secrets is less necessary, and even arguably counterproductive. So Lute thinking it’s dumb makes sense, but habits that kept you alive in a bad place are hard to break.
That doesn’t mean I think Aulia is a good person, but it’s impressive how realistic and understandable even the larger than life characters like her are.
Victor following people into bathroom is definitely Lute's fault.
That’s normal cat behavior though?
To me, this chapter really felt like Stu was rapidly adding husenots to his tower of confidence. His family may have weakened his confidence from lack of trust, but at this point, how could he fail when he's got Alden as a friend. Will he go to binding in the coming days before Eeaner's party, they wont be able to try and corrupt Stu with their party antics if he is in that state.
Or maybe the party turns put pretty well and he sees that he can also have schoolmates like Eeaner and others as friends. Not everytjhing has to always be the most intense and profound, for that he now has Alden. But it's also okay to relax a bit and have some light-hearted fun with others.
On approximate day, I really relate to Kon. I plan to let some chapters build up to read all at once, but as soon as I see the cup filling I drink it right away.
Chap 70: > Alden poured himself another glass of water and hopped up on one of the counter stools. " > “What are your rings going to do?” > “Assuming I don’t fail to properly craft and <> the enchantment, this one is > going to warm my hands when the temperature drops. Chap 304: > Stu crossed into a patch of cold air. His nose stung, and he tapped the warming rings he wore on each hand to activate them.
“Assuming I don’t fail to properly craft and < enforce > the enchantment, this one is going to warm my hands when the temperature drops. I’m making another for small object < levitation >.”
I always wonder about the vows. Mother has never mentioned them to Alden. My pet theory is that candidates who want to be knights must vow live a life of sacrifice. They use magic to force the candidates to fully live the experience of sacrificing yourself for someone else. But Alden has already sacrificed himself for another, twice. I personally don't think Mother will make him relive someone else's sacrifice because he has already made his and then reaffirmed it.
I think Alden will still do some sort of vow/oath in the not-too-distant future, but i don't think it should involve the visions. My understanding was the primary goal of those visions were to give the other wizards/knights a chance to properly vette the declared to make sure they were doing it for the betterment of society and not just wanting more power to be a supervillan. Because of circumstances, Alden skipped that cultural roadblock, but he's only accepted the role less than a month ago, and has been pretty busy for that whole with Stu and all of those shenanigans. which is similarly why Mother only properly spoke/interacted with him last chapter because he's been busy with other things. Mother already has "full access" to Alden's thoughts and motives and she has already accepted him to be a Hn'tyon, so performing the oaths is just filling out the paperwork at this point.
Fantabulous, thank you!
my most enthusiastic contrafribularities
I just want to leave the message that Ive been following Soup for years and this is one of three series that I've actually been able to through the years with the others being PGTS and Gunslinger Magical Girl.
What's PGTS? And did you mean Magical Girl Gunslinger? That stopped updating more than a year ago. edit: A Practical Guide to Sorcery, got it. I use MS Edge for reading because it has good offline TTS, but Bing is bad at finding things.
I love a good bit of gay-coded platonic love.
Bad touch! This is a story about friends. Not benefits.
Meeting Alden’s birth tree is a surprisingly appropriate replacement for meeting the family the poor kid no longer has. All those Thorns.
Alden's aunt still lives! I'd be very curious what Stu would make of her, and vice versa.
Huh, Alden both paused to think before accepting a new tattoo with a strange wizard AND accused said wizard of a lack of imagination. His personal growth has truly flourished under the tutelage of Distinguished Professor Esh-erdi.
Wow! The way Alden's birth tree mirrors his last name… and how it connects to Stu’s patient creature… It's not Chekhov's gun here. It's Chekhov's machine gun! Every detail is loaded with symbolism… Also love how Alden and Stu are comfortable enough to just be silly and childish together.
The technical term is ‘Chekhov’s firing squad’
this was SO ADORABLE AHHHHH
Coincidentally I just finished up my backlog of Zenith of Sorcery chapters (I paused at chapter 12 two years ago and got a full 23 chapters in one go, woot! Also golly he does take his time...) and one of the fun author note questions is "if you were picking a spirit tree for a magic focus, what would it be?" I decided at the time that I'd probably go with a magnolia, because that was my favorite climbing tree as a kid, but I apparently didn't reckon on how metal honey locusts are and Stu's talk of big trees does make me wonder how awesome a redwood would be. Also apropros of nothing, baobabs, baobabs are cool. And the ones that make the giant coconuts...ahhh, there are so many cool trees out there!
We should have a calendar for the appreciation of trees...
Sleyca, you are my favorite writer on this planet. You bring me such joy each week. Thank you, truly.
Chapter 304: Alden discovers his inner arsonist. His joy at having three spells for the big hot, and intense desire to use one, was adorable.
I am so curious whether Alden will call Boe before he leaves Rapports III or not - what Alden learned from Esh about 'Uniques' and the implications for Boe's situation may have obviated Earth Contract's requirement to get a secrecy tattoo with Boe. I assume Boe would prefer that be a private conversation with no bonus Stu involved, but Alden did want to talk to him before getting his Matadero tattoo with Esh - did Esh effectively approve Alden putting off getting the secrecy tattoo again to a time after Alden returns from Rapports III?
Stu needs to go st school tomorrow, and Alden can stay until Monday so a time to chat privately might come
It makes sense but Alden and Stu do not have a particularly healthy relationship. They’re both using each other to avoid the difficulties they face relating to their broader communities. Stu’s family isn’t treating how they should with respect to knighthood but their concerns about Alden are very valid.
I feel like Stu has been doing more to engage with his peers than he was before Alden's surprise return to life, though - remember Stu going to the Welcome End ceremony at DawnStep? Stu wouldn't be going to a campus party at all if Alden's situation hadn't motivated him to make a trade with his housemate. At least one of Stu's peers who are newling hn'tyons have outright rejected his company- Stu rejecting the validity of that absolute rejection seems more like an act of self-preservation than avoidance; he will change their minds by affixing, not talking to them more when they are that steadfast in not wanting his company. Alden has never been a super extroverted person- he has exactly two close friends before his Selection, and seemed content to stick to that close circle. Alden has been pouring effort into trying to integrate with his chosen hn'tyon community, especially since he completed his choosing season. He's also reasonable close with his Anesidoran roommates and his obstacle course team; I'm not sure it's fair to say he's avoiding dealing with his broader communities when he's straddling multiple worlds and only has so much time to split between them
Thanks for the chapter! Oh this was so cozy! I love Stu and Alden chapters. The party is going to be interesting and im looking forward to seeing it/ hearing about it.
There should definitely be a scene with Esh-Erdi spying on the boys. “Oh ho! Young Stu showed up in a panic… but I can’t hear what they’re saying!!! They do look cute together”
Esh must think Alden and Stu are a secret couple and that's why Alden wants to live in a rapport (together with Stu).
looking forward to what comes next
However Sleyca's doing it, she's woven threads of magic through this story, and brings together a beautiful pattern in this chapter. It's inspired a couple of... celebrations? meditations? tributes? to share the parts that particularly made me feel. Earlier, I replied to a comment to share a shorter bit about Stu, and all the "multiple, well-considered, personal reasons" he might have for wearing a thorn. Now, a hope for Alden's future. That despite the challenging path he's taken, he'll continue to find joy not only in using magic, but in making it his own. That his own personal brand of magic will continue to uplift, and to serve (by choice!) those around him. --- Alden felt old. He was bone-weary, heart-weary, and Self-weary, but he had been all of those things before. On Thegund. In the wake of the sinker-sender disaster. On Goldbush, and on worlds beyond. Kibby would soon be an adult, even by Artonan reckoning, and she was outright _throwing_ open the many doors to her possible futures. Alden knew he should be there, if only to be available for her choosing season. He _wanted_ to be there. To be involved. To cheer her on, and to tell her that, _yes,_ she absolutely could become a research scientist greater than the however-many-times-meritorious Worli Ro-den, and she _could_ be the greatest votary in the history of the Tri-planets - perhaps second only to Olorn mom. _But if I were there, I'd be in her way. Whenever Stu and I weren't being dragged to one party after another, that is. Now I know why Jeneth-art'h spends so much time hiding behind the plants. Yes, I am officially very old._ Stu was tired too, Alden felt. Their squad had just brought down a demon that had... likely been a person, though they could no longer identify its species. The fight had not gone all their way; magical healing could do much for the body, but at least one of their squad mates would likely seek the next Welcome End. _I hope Yenu-pezth is well. She'd probably agree to see Mirin before then. Maybe Mirin will agree to go._ Even thoughts of Kibby couldn't keep him distracted for long. "Alden," Stuart croaked suddenly, piercing the fog that had settled over Alden. He had a way of doing that, just when needed. Their squad was sheltering in a tent, somewhat shielded from the Self-scouring pressure of Chaos. Once they were rested enough, they could finally begin to chip away at its edges, with the demon no longer here to guide its retaliation for their every staggering step. "We accomplished something today, and we all deserve to celebrate," Stu said. _True. But we've only just made our first dent in the Chaos here, and we're too exhausted to do anything but worry about what comes next._ Stu gave a nod as though he'd heard Alden's thought, as he continued. "This might be the perfect occasion to share that new story you've been working on. You'd like to hear it, wouldn't you, Yaril?" A muscle twitched on Yaril's back. _Lying on her face like that, that's probably a nod._ "It's... kind of a celebration story, I suppose," Alden said. "I wrote it to share how I feel about magic. I mean, magic has been a part of your lives since you were young, and even I use my skill every day without even thinking about it. But sometimes, I'm still reminded that _it's magic._ Usually, it's the simple things, like lighting a promise stick. Is a story like that something you want to hear, to fill this silence?" Nods from Stu, from Norem, even from Zaminee-und. Mirin noticed he was looking to her next, and nodded in turn. A twitch from Yaril. "It's too bad that one of us will miss the illusions that accompany this story," Stu said pointedly. "It's alright, Stu," said Alden, "there are no illusions this time. Just one little spell that I think Yaril can picture in her mind." "It starts," Alden said, with a small sweeping gesture that gathered the attention of his viewers, "with a single spark." He snapped his fingers.
How much do we think Alden's priority rank on Earth has changed since his choosing season / friendship weaving? I hope he checks that when he updates his fake profile, which should be soon (in Soup days, anyway).
As a soon-sworn human hn'tyon, I could see it being high enough to be notable even to Artonans.
I’m looking forward to the conversation between Alden & Earth’s Contract. Will it come up with its own idea to replace the plagiarism of the hot chocolate gift? Will it do a better job of choosing a setting that won’t annoy Alden? What strategy will Earth use to try to convince Alden to level up this time? A bribe? A sob story? Dark suggestions of danger? Or will it just be resigned from the start that Alden’s gonna tell it to take its level up & shove it?
I think it did promise Alden to not have a medical setting? I don't remember where that came up.
Stu not knowing the last time he did something silly intentionally is so sweet
> She had arrived. Her existence changed everything around her. Huh. What are the artonan’s stances on the abortion debate
They'd probably scratch their heads at us humans arguing over the wrong end of process. It's the lack of access to birth control and health education that's the real problem. The number of abortions would drop dramatically if people who didn't want to be pregnant had easy access to birth control in the first place. There would still be unwanted pregnancies due to it failing or to rape, but not nearly so many. There was actually a test case to see how that would work out (The Colorado Initiative to Reduce Unintended Pregnancy). The results were not only dramatic in the reduction of abortions and the drop in teen births, but also saved the state millions in public aid.
> “Everyone who was invited will be casting the spell all over campus to show off.” Oi! Kids these days! Emotional manipulation spells, being cast just to *show off*. And just whom are we casting on, I'd like to know! Fellow students, amirite? Harrumph. For all of its "fancy fan" pageantry, if you can cast this spell on your peers, you don't even need to show off. It's disrespectful. Things were much more civilized in my days of (magical potion) drugs, sex, and sensory sharing gum. Harrrrumph.
*Sighs happily* I love this story.
'His friend, Alden Thorn, was not a ryeh-b’t hatchling. But there was something about this night that was like that morning.' :) Thank you for the chapter :D
What a lovely chapter.
Oh nice, I don't think you ever mentioned the type of tree before. Just looked it up....very pretty, but I don't think anyone in their right mind would plant a thorned variety on a sidewalk or in a parking lot. Too many careless humans.....
It was mentioned at some point. There's been a 'grow a tree' plugin on the discord named after it for a while now.
Writing again how much I enjoyed a new chapter feels a little stale and repetitive, but I do it anyway: great chapter! I hope the next chapter will focus on Alden leveling up. As much as I like the slowburn of personal growth and self-discovery, I found the novel through the LitRPG genre, and that particular itch needs to scratched from time to time. Also I cant wait to see how Alden fares after affixation and the challanges when he doesnt want to use his skill.
You'll need to wait until the current semester is over at least until Alden will be able to level-up and reaffix. He'll be unable to use his abilities for some time directly after affixation, so doing so during the semester would definitely raise some issues for him.
Thank you for the chapter! I want a honey locust tree now! Wondering if I could get one to grow in my yard in honor of Stu and Alden
Careful, they're highly weedy and invasive.
Heartwarming Stu and Alden chapter, but I am worried about Boe, so long since we had an update, and that was bleak.
It’s been months in real time, but merely days in story time :P
I feel worried.... I am seeing signs of hesitation from Stu.... I hope I am just conjuring up my worst fears, much like Stu when he was at his learning opportunity. I desperately hope I am wrong. However, I can envision Stuart becoming Alden's Votary.
I also love this chapter! That should also be said!
"and now, with more solid ground under me, the same steps turn into big leaps." So fitting for Alden to use this analogy given his movement skill
As I enjoyed this soup, I additionally entertained myself picturing Mother watching all of this and giggling and kicking her feet as much as I imagine we all were
Esh-erdi is my favorite character. I really want him to be the first figuring it out. Maybe he already has a suspicion and that's part of why he is going so far
I was thinking he might figure it out when he does Aldens tattoo. Bug the way the author is pointing toward is probably him revealing it after stuart binds.
Freaking great chapter, Sleyca
The Maker of Narrow Ways creates a path for one Object to a similar one right? I anticipate the demon or thing that threatens Alden just to get impaled by the Thorn.
This!
Its not the size of the tree that matters. Its how you use it
It's also a big tree! If fully grown like 15m (50') minimum.
For some reason, people can see something, even an act of helping, as something to denigrate or make fun of. I’m sure glad that Alden and Stu have eachother and use immense consideration in their words and actions to one another. People read into things. They’ll assign your actions to whatever narrative fits best with their worldview and whatever profile they’ve crafted of you. Even despite it having no bearing on reality. They’ll disregard evident truths in order to maintain their grip on that fake reality. This also often reveals something about themselves. The most sinister will actually engineer situations to validate their constructed narrative/profile and allow them to go to others saying “see! I was right about them!” If they can convince other people to see what they’ve engineered, surely it must mean that they are right! Sometimes even more hurtfully, their narrative actually reveals something about yourself that you never knew. The greatest lies are often the ones we tell ourselves. And sometimes, people will hate you just for the way you move through the world. I’m glad this night was a safe space for Alden and Stu. However, the night actually is dark and full of terrors. Sometimes looking forward to dawn is the only thing you have. I wish I always knew what to say like Alden. I worry about Stu’s party.
It'd build Alden's legend if he had to apologize to Warin-doyis and the class and accept a teleport from right there to Artona III/LeafSong. Within 48sec to make it even more legendary. I don't think that's what will happen. I think class will finish, first :)
This chapter right here is magic. Any extra time taken to write it was super worth it. I love these characters sooo much!! A couple of times I almost exploded into sprinkles because I was just so darn happy. I can’t wait to reread and reread this amazing chapter many times:).
One of my favorite things about this story is how "rich" the alien language is. How it has become easier to tell when they are not talking in English despite using English. Also, that there is strong emotional bonding and care that isn't related to romance.
I’m often impressed with how gracefully Sleyca manages inventing & using a fictional language. So often in sci-fi/fantasy, writers’ attempts to create words sound artificial at best & ridiculous at worst. But Sleyca’s Artonan always sounds natural.
This story feels like a flower just about to blossom fully. Beautiful writing.
My favorite type of chapter! Love these two so much. <3
This chapter really showcases the weaving of the friendship. All the ways the long strands and the present overlap and make the friendship stronger.
It is rather surprising that a hospital would have a locust tree near the entry way path. If I remember correctly, that was how the placement was described. Seems like a huge liability that would have been removed long ago.
Headcanon: The long-time administrator of the hospital is an Australian, and can't understand why Tennesseans are so wimpy about a tree that is as harmless as a locust. The administrator is always quick to talk about trees that are really dangerous. [see: Shining-leaved stinging tree; Giant stinging tree; Gympie-gympie]
I wonder how Jupiter will respond to Alden wearing a thorn necklace
If he were foolish enough to wear it in the gym: Trying to put it through his eye socket.
Awesome chapter again. I really enjoy Stu and Alden’s ace platonic (?) whatever interactions. <3 — “I was letting my fears eat my reason,” said Stu. — “One of the burdens I must bear is The Maker of Narrow Ways’s lack of imagination.”
Such good soup! Even when read in stolen moments between work. I look forward to my lunch break for a re-read
God I love these two interacting so much every time
Two boys who have had such difficulties in their family relationships, who have largely felt isolated… seeing them connect over and over, deepening a friendship that they’re hoping will lead to a relationship that will basically make them family… I get so many warm fuzzies.
“It’s not little. That’s a big tree. A big, full-grown tree. Your sense for tree size is heavily biased by a forest full of giants. Don’t rush at it if you can’t see it well.” I love the symbolism here so much! about how stu grew up surrounded by extremely powerful people, for whom being a knight was bordering on normal, and so from his perspective the spells alden does are both wonderful but also so small. but alden grew up in an environment where any magic at all is considered a lot, and he reminds stu that his perspective is biased by growing up surrounded by such "tall" achievers. and the interaction of stu saying “A lovely little tree! I wish I could see it better.". which mirrors stu's first impression of alden! and I love this so much, and aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa also the tree being in winter, so it doesn't have leaves, but it has seed pods, showing the potential I am going to explode wishing I was back in school so I could do our final in english literature about this chapter I love my babies so much!!!!
Wow thanks for highlighting that layered symbolism! I hadn’t fully picked up on it
All dem thorns.
Such great soup :) tftc!
Beautiful chapter 🥹
This was such a healthy enjoyable soup - I just really really love it ! These wonderful boys!
Sleyca is stabbing my tear ducts with ryeh-b’t wings and tree thorns
Another amazing chapter.
Alden showing off his sparkly fire spell and his birth tree is like they’ve swapped roles - and Alden gets to belong here completely, for at least a while, when the air is pleasantly cool and they’re alone. The night feels so hopeful.
Alden and Stu acting their age while talking about large futures and painful truths. The Soup was well made.
That was gracefully done, Alden's gentle suggestion that friendship of oath tattoos would be redundant (not to mention limited in comparison!) to the mutual spot-holding they've already decided to aim for. And now they are planning matching thorn accessories! For reminders, beauty, defense, and Alden healing if needed; what an elegant way to both honor Stu's chosen sigil and creatures that inspired it, and also tie in Alden's own history and chosen life purpose.
Fun fact honey locus dried bean pods make great instant maraca's.
I can just imagine Esh rolling his eyes when he found out Stu showed up and why. lol.
Esh was totally aiming for Stu showing up when he made those comments and didn’t tell Alden that Stu is having a nervous breakdown!😂
“It’s not little. That’s a big tree. A big, full-grown tree. Your sense for tree size is heavily biased by a forest full of giants. Don’t rush at it if you can’t see it well.” Please, if Stu'art ever tours Earth, you GOTTA have a stop through some ancient Redwoods so Stu'art can backhand-compliment "Earth's healthy new forest"
I agree with this SO MUCH.
Thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
They can use the thorns as needles for their friendship tattoos
I don’t know much about tattoos, but that sounds like a real risky idea to me. Wouldn’t there be a danger of splinters or fibers breaking off in your skin?
Woohoo!! We got a Ploomp mention!
...and now we know what some of those snacks "better than orange peels" were. 😊
Thank you for the chapter! It was a nice cosy one, I look forward to rereading it later.
I suspect the day that the arth family will give Stuart a dressing down is coming closer and closer (and so is the ensuing fallout). I kind of look forward to it, because it will be the start of Alden and Stuart starting their own home.
If Stu is lucky, he gets grounded and is not allowed to go to his party… . But indeed, if the fallout happens he may decide to live in the old house and go to first binding right away. I hope Alden can provide support.
Using rye-b’t Alden’s hatching to frame what Stu’s experiencing with Alden in the forest… it’s absolutely beautiful.
Thank you! Another most perfect day!
These have been some of the most beautiful chapters. I love these two so much. 🥹
No matter how much fun all the other characters are, my very favorite chapters are the ones where Alden and Stu are together. Though Stu is such a tree snob. Honey locusts are like 50 feet tall.
Pft, tree snob
"Stu allowed his thoughts to split to sharpen the present against the memory" Woah, great line. TFTC!
Shoup Shoup shoup right before bed!
TFTC!
Soup!!!! 😍
Perfect timing, I just got home from work!
Soup>work Thanks for the chapter
Thanks for the soup! Tell your important one to wear a matching accessory made from the tree you were born under as a reminder sound a lot like a proposal.
That was my first thought! Finally other people are starting to see the fact that they are desperately in love!