Tala pulled out an Archive slate for Artia as she sat with the woman, Adrill, and Brandon.

If Artia wanted to learn enough magic to allow her the benefits of aging more slowly, Tala would help her.

There was technically a stricture against increasing any human’s throughput without cause, but Tala had cleared it with Master Grediv, in case the woman wished to take this step to better align her life-expectancy with that of her husband.

There simply wasn’t the infrastructure in place to deal with the increased degradation of reality that having a large number of gates with increased throughput—without the mitigation of a Mage’s mindset—would bring about.

Truthfully, the marriage between a Mage and a mundane was the most common reason for allowing those unsuited for Magehood to gain some magic. There were even standard plans of study.

The second most common reason was in order for the person to gain specific magics for their profession, like the masseuse who had worked on Tala so long ago. Though, Emi had only been inscribed. She hadn’t been intentionally expanding her throughput as Artia would need to.

I haven’t thought of Emi in ages.

-We’ve walked near her studio a few times. She seems to be doing well.-

That’s good to hear.

Back on the matter at hand, Tala let go of the Archive tablet as Artia took it.

Alat had put together basic reading materials for Artia, in case the woman decided to proceed down this path. The alternate interface had combed the standard materials, adding to them, rearranging and paring down based on their particular knowledge of the merchant.

“Those materials cover the starting information. If you have any questions on magic, generally, I recommend you ask Adrill or Brandon. If you have any questions about gates, or personal, gate-bent magic, please come directly to me. I don’t think you’ll have need to, but no study plan is perfect.”

Artia held the slate, her shaking hand showing that she knew exactly what it was, what it represented, and how much it was worth. “I will, Mistress. Thank you.”

Tala realized that the woman was likely nervous about what lay before her, too, but Tala was trying to not consider that.

Good thoughts. Happy thoughts.

She probably has about seven years before he becomes effectively ‘younger’ than her.

-That’s a hard thing to face. That your future depends so much on you.-

While I know what you mean, that is true for everyone.

-That’s true enough, but it usually isn’t so starkly obvious.-

Fair.

Tala then turned to face Brandon. “I am happy to come and talk with Kedva and anyone else the two of you want to include.”

She didn’t really want to, so saying that she was ‘happy to’ was quite the stretch, but she was willing to, and so it wasn’t worth quibbling about nuances.

“Also, don’t forget that Master Nadro will be here to speak with all of us in just less than two weeks. I would recommend waiting until after he comes, but it is your choice.”

“Thank you, Mistress Tala. I think that Dad and I would like to finish our initial review of the”—his eyes flicked to his mother before he continued—“advancement manual before we have that conversation with Kedva. That way, I can actually give her some solid answers, as well as let her know my own plans, moving forward. I do think I’ll want to have the talk before Master Nadro comes, though. That way Kedva can join us, if she chooses.”

Tala nodded again at that. “That seems very reasonable. Do you have a more specific timeline?”

“I think we can get it all sorted in another couple of days? It is very accessibly laid out, but the text is still very dense with information, implication, and interwoven repercussions.”

-I should hope so. I rebuilt it for you.-

You did wonderful, Alat. Thank you.

Brandon was still speaking, “Additionally, we only want to get a grasp of the very beginning of the process. I’m sure we’ll miss some things by proceeding in that manner, but I think it’s for the best to at least get this somewhat sorted. From there, we can let her decide her own timeline, if she decides to proceed.”

Tala nodded. “That makes sense to me. Schedule a time, and I’ll be there. I can take time away from my defensive duties, but I would be grateful if you would be willing to schedule around those.”

“Thank you, and certainly. I will keep you apprised.”

Tala took a deep breath before nodding and looking Adrill and Brandon both in the eyes. “Before we’re done, I want to say again: I deeply apologize. This is not something that should have happened without you both explicitly agreeing.”

Adrill gave a sad smile, though there was the light of hope and almost childlike excitement in his eyes. “We know, Mistress Tala. You have been nothing but apologetic and helpful since the accident. This was not your intention. Blessedly, it looks like it should work out for the best.”—he had pointedly looked to his wife, meeting her eyes as he stated that—“Accidents happen.”

Brandon nodded. “We will get through this. This is a good thing that happened in a bad way. We’ll sort it in the end.”

Tala smiled in return, knowing that was expected of her. “As you say.”

* * *

Tala walked through the streets of Alefast having a series of rather unusual experiences.

She was recognized by someone every block or so.

Terry seemed to find it enjoyable from his perch atop her shoulder, but she felt rather awkward, preferring to go unacknowledged.

This wasn’t totally new, as there had long been some people who recognized her from her cyclops fight back when she’d first become a defender of Alefast, but since then, she’d mainly let her unit mates take the fights that occurred near the walls.

Thus, she hadn’t really been very well known.

That had seemingly changed.

Her recent fight against the small horde of gibbering quilled jerboara was apparently quite a popular recording.

Even though it had happened in the middle of the night so only the most hard-core or enthusiastic had seen it ‘live’—there were those who apparently paid to be woken up in the event of a late-night attack so they could do just that—the last couple of days had seen it replayed all over the city, and likely throughout most other human cities as well.

She was temporarily famous, and something made her think it wouldn’t fade as quickly as she’d have preferred…

Regardless of her personal feelings, she did her best to acknowledge those who waved or called out. There was no need to be rude, but it was a bit awkward for her, nevertheless.

Terry preened and occasionally flickered between her shoulders as she waved, just because he could.

And to show off…

-He does seem to be getting to a place where he appreciates positive human attention now.-

Tala hesitated at that. I had not considered that.

She looked to Terry, reaching up to scratch behind his head. “You like being liked, Terry?”

Terry chirped happily.

“I’m glad to hear it. You’re with us. Humans are your people now, and I am your flock.”

He cocked his head to the side, moving where she scratched, even as he trilled noncommittally.

“Still thinking?” She felt a smile pull at her lips.

A descending series of notes conveyed that, yes, he was still thinking.

“Very well. Let’s just enjoy their gratitude, shall we?”

That, he heartily agreed with.

It was great to have Terry becoming more interested in humanity as more than a passing curiosity, but she couldn’t tarry.

Ha, tarry for Terry.

-Tala, focus.-

Right…

After all, she was on her way to an important meeting, so she did her best to not be delayed.

Despite her attempts to move quickly, she was a minute or two late for her meeting with Kedva and Brandon in a prominent tea house, designed so each table had its own small, private garden, each uniquely themed.

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Tala was shown to the table where the two were already waiting.

When she entered the private garden, the two stood and bowed deeply.

Brandon was still magically more dense than the surrounding environment, if just barely, but he was bleeding magic like a punctured bellows, creating eddies in the zeme all around him.

He’d been out of Kit for half a day or so, and he was already down to less than a third of the density he held when in the sanctum, almost fully equalized with the density of the power flowing stoneward.

At that level, he would be equivalent to a mundane, gated human, which—granted—was much more than the standard gateless.

Just like Master Grediv said. They can’t maintain the density. Even within Alefast, the amount of power available isn’t nearly as much as within Kit.

There was a moment of hesitation after the bow—as Tala approached the table—before Kedva stepped forward and gave Tala a tight embrace.

Terry flickered out of the way at the last moment.

Tala was too startled to stop the young woman, and so accepted the hug, even if she knew that it couldn’t be that pleasant to effectively be hugging what would feel like a statue.

When Kedva pulled back, she was crying, causing Tala to blanch, pulling back in turn.

Kedva caught hold of Tala’s forearms and held on, “No, please.” Her eyes moved quickly to Terry off to one side, “Hello, Terry. I’m sorry about that.”

Terry chirped softly, indicating he didn’t mind.

Tala stopped, hesitant. Obviously, the girl’s actions hadn’t actually held her in place, but she chose to honor the unspoken request for what it was.

“Thank you. You have given the man I love so, so many more years to live, and in which to live well. We gateless face so much difficulty with our health and bodies, and now he need not fear or be concerned by that possibility. Thus, before anything else: Thank you.”

Tala nodded awkwardly, “It was an accident, but I am glad that some good will come from it.”

Kedva nodded in return, conviction easily visible in her eyes. “Just so. Thank you.”

From what Tala could tell, Kedva was insistent and wouldn’t let the moment pass, so she capitulated once again, “Then, you are welcome.”

Kedva dropped one of Tala’s hands but held onto the other, drawing her toward the table.

Tala obviously could have resisted, but she saw no need to, simply following after the girl.

This is becoming a pattern…

-Following her lead?-

Yeah…

-Do you want to take charge?-

No?

-Then don’t complain.-

…fine.

Once they were all seated, Tala took a moment to really take in their surroundings.

It was a lovely garden, arranged to do a fair mimicry of a mountain range, with small trees that seemed to have been grown and meticulously pruned to make them appear to be full sized, while still remaining incredibly small.

This garden was called, ‘Giant’s Retreat.’

-Fitting.-

Truly.

There were waterfalls and flowing ‘rivers’ each carefully crafted to look full-sized while matching the miniscule scale of the trees and other terrain. Additionally, there were little surprises tucked all through the space of superb quality.

Everything from a little water wheel in a mountain valley, to actual illusions of forest creatures moving through the scenery.

Terry had noticed the illusions, shrinking himself smaller than Tala had ever seen him… but he still was a giant among the trees as he hunted the illusions.

She had a moment of fear that he’d wreck the place, but the roots had been cultivated to be deep and strong, so the trees weren’t going anywhere.

It was a masterwork of beauty and craftsmanship.

Honestly, if she didn’t have her three-fold sight—which showed her the entirety all at once—she could have looked upon the garden with her own eyes for hours.

It was that sight that also showed her just how firmly established the roots of the trees were, along with everything else. It was likely that this tea house had been here since near the founding of Alefast.

Even with her full understanding of what was there, she still felt drawn to visually explore the place, the meticulous craftsmanship.

She wanted to watch Terry terrorize the surprisingly responsive fake animals.

-Of course you do. Because you don’t want to have the very conversation that you are here to have. You feel awkward and want to focus elsewhere.-

…that too, but it really is a beautiful place.

-That it is.-

The table nestled in the largest ‘mountain valley’ was low to the ground, with the three of them sitting on cushions of well-established clover.

Well, Tala was kind and moved the cushion before sitting. So, two of them were on cushions, and Tala was on the greenery.

No need to wear out their cushion for nothing.

Tala could see by the underlying patterns of wear that the table was likely moved daily to prevent the underlying turf from being damaged.

In fact, she could—

-Tala.-

Right…

The tea had already been provided, purposely chosen to be paired with the setting, and the pot was centered on the table, steam rising from the spout, magics moving through the teapot to keep the liquid at a perfect, uniform temperature.

Wow, Artia wasn’t wrong; that type of artifact is everywhere.

-Indeed. And your ability to distract yourself seems to know no end.-

I’m getting to it. It’s not like this is actually taking much time.

-Surprisingly…-

Tala had had defensive duty that morning—blessedly free of attacks—so it was afternoon by this point, and the tea reflected that.

The chosen variety was a beautifully smooth, Makinaven Black. Tala could easily smell the rich, fine flavor—a bit citrusy and floral while remaining smooth and sweet—and that was just how it touched her nose.

Served with the tea were a spread of various trifle, some with fruit, others with chocolate.

Tea first, then trifle.

But before Tala could move for the tea, Kedva picked up the pot and slowly—almost meditatively—poured for all three of them.

-At least someone is on task.-

Hush, you.

Tala nodded in acknowledgement to Kedva. “Thank you.”

“Of course, Mistress Tala.” Kedva smiled a content little smile. “I am pleased to be of service.”

-I was wrong. You people will really never get to the actual conversation, will you?-

Enough, Alat. I know you are trying to help, but that is enough. We will talk when the time is right.

-Very well.-

Tala took a long sip from her cup, enjoying the promise of the scent, fulfilled in the flavor. “Excellent.”

“Hmmm.” Kedva and Brandon agreed, drinking from their own small cups.

They sat in silence for long minutes, enjoying first the tea, then the accompanying dessert.

An attendant came and refilled the teapot twice during that time.

Finally, when the attendant had departed after the second refilling, Tala buckled down and decided to not allow the conversation to be delayed anymore. She put down her most recently finished trifle glass, swallowed and asked, “So…?”

-That’s right, Tala. Eloquently put. You get right to the heart of the matter so easily.-

Hush, you.

-Hey, I have been quiet for quite a while.-

That’s… fair.

Kedva smiled a bit sadly, setting her tea to one side, “Very well. I suppose we should get to business.” She shared a look with Brandon before turning to fully face Tala, “How soon can I enter your sanctum and expect good results?”

Tala blinked a few times. “What?”

-What?-

Kedva chuckled slightly. “I asked: How soon can I enter your sanctum? I wish to undergo the same process as dear Brandon.”

“Just like that?”

She shook her head. “No, not just like that. My Brandon and I have gone over the details that I am permitted to know, and I think this is the obvious choice. Honestly, once you are more open with this information—assuming you choose to ever do so, which I would recommend—you are going to have a lot of the local gateless potentially asking for the same, depending on how it goes for me.” She barked a laugh, then covered her mouth in slight embarrassment. “Excuse me. You’ll have most gateless in every city trying to gain entry.”

Tala swallowed, her mouth a bit dry. Well, I suppose that should be expected.

-Yeah, we’re effectively a way for them to stay in the same region as their kin without suffering the negative effects.-

Master Grediv is not going to approve everyone going through the process.

-Honestly, he might, but do you really want him to? Do you want a bunch of random people in your sanctum?-

…no. I really don’t. Kedva should be fine, but the sanctum is and always will be mine. Only those connected to me, and working with and for me will have a place.

It was a bit selfish, but it also needed to be.

She didn’t have infinite resources—even if she might have infinite time—so she needed to be discerning and wise in how she used them.

It was odd, especially because in the next world, there wouldn’t be any limit on resources. After all, the next world was the source of all magic. That made this realization about her finite resources in the grand scheme of things, both eternal and radically counter to her soul’s reality in the next world.

It’s about tension, how the finite and the infinite intertwine and interrelate.

There was a twinge within her, and she sighed. How much?

-At least a percent. How did that move you one percent closer to being Paragon?-

She didn’t have time to analyze it, but she thought she understood.

If she spent herself to help everyone, in the grand scheme of things she would end up helping no one. She couldn’t, and wouldn’t, be a miser, but she also needed to be a good steward of what she had to work with.

The slight strengthening of her aura and advancing of her magics was wonderful, but it wasn’t why she was here.

Word it well, don’t slap her down.

-I can help?-

Sure.

“Alright then, Kedva. Thank you for the decisiveness. I don’t know that we’ll be opening this to many others, if any at all, so keep that in mind if it affects your choice.”

Kedva just nodded once.

Looking to Kedva’s betrothed, Tala asked, “Brandon? What do you think about this?”

He smiled, clearly pleased. “Her mind is made up, and I’m not going to try to dissuade her. It would be selfish of me to force her to choose this, and it would be equally foolish for me to deny her choice. Dad and I have been researching the… manual already—quite extensively, as we discussed—and I think we have a good idea of how to proceed.”

As he said the last, he narrowed his eyes at Tala. Tala quirked a smile back. So, he realized that my ‘follow these instructions’ was basically a mental trick.

-Of course he did, he’s not a fool.-

Yeah, yeah.

-That’s also why he isn’t saying anything. He doesn’t want to ruin Kedva’s chances.-

That’s likely, yeah.

Tala nodded, “We do have an expert coming in about nine days. Talking with him could help you both before or after. So, the real question, Kedva, is how quickly can you, Adrill, and Brandon prep you for the process? And when do you want to do it? I won’t stand in your way.”

Kedva turned to Brandon. “Well?”

“I think we can teach you what you absolutely need to know in a week.”

She nodded once, turning back to Tala with determination practically glowing in her eyes. “I will do it in a week. Then, I can have more solidified questions for this expert. I’m not changing my mind.”

Tala smiled. “Very well. We will aim for one week’s time, then.”

Kedva and Brandon shared a long, almost awkwardness-inducing glance before Kedva smiled. “One week it is. Agreed.”