I approached Emsi tentatively, like she was a hare I might spook, though I was the one who felt ready to run. Halfway there, I realized I still carried the cup with the ‘antidote’ and quickly set it down on the ground; I didn’t want anyone trying to get me to drink the remainder.

I made it the rest of the way to Emsi without her taking note of me, and only after I had stood there long enough to make it clear I wasn’t leaving, did she acknowledge my presence by glancing up. Emsi’s eyes on me – hazel, with a tinge of our Warrior red – were enough to make the feeling that there wasn’t enough air in the room return tenfold. With my chest as tight as it was, it took a great deal of effort to get the few words I had planned out – something I had never experienced when speaking to her before.

“May I sit with you?”

“I suppose,” she answered, looking back down and not making room for me.

I didn’t wish to crowd her, so I walked around, sitting on the other half of the alcove she was using where there was more space. Then we just sat there, neither speaking, which was both uncomfortable and made me painfully aware of the sounds coming from other alcoves, which were not far away and completely open to view.

“I saw you kissed, Deq,” I said and then regretted it. That had obviously been a disappointing experience, otherwise they’d still be doing it, or she’d be in a better mood.

“He kissed me,” she said dully.

I wasn’t sure why the distinction mattered, but from the few times I had been to the bars in Misfell, I knew that disagreeing with someone you were interested in was a poor way to gain their attention. The trouble was, knowing that didn’t tell me what I should be doing instead. None of us had been particularly successful, at least not during our early trips when I went with Aldric and Tamra instead of sparring with Maphen.

Despite feeling completely out of my depth, I had a sudden urge to compliment Emsi. I wasn’t quite sure where the idea had come from, but I saw no reason to discount it, especially since hearing our voices would be preferable to what was currently filling my ears.

“I find it admirable what you’re doing,” I said, pointing at the scars on her arms.

She looked up at me, surprised this time. “You…do?”

“Of course,” I said, daring to scoot closer. “You cut yourself to learn to handle the pain. If I had done the same training as you, I might have lasted longer in the Melee.”

She pulled back, as if I had said precisely the wrong thing. “That’s not why I do it.”

“It’s not? Why else would you?”

Perhaps she sensed that my question was genuine because the brief anger that had sparked in her fizzled. She stared at her arms, then the people cavorting around us – which I did not join her in, continuing to focus on her. Then her arms hugged herself.

“It’s too much sometimes,” she whispered. “At least when I wield the blade I can control it, but ever since we got here it’s been so much worse. All the dying, and during the Melee I was poisoned. It was terrible being trapped in my body, awake but unseeing, unable to do anything. And pimply Deq pressing his face against mine is supposed to make me feel better?” She hugged herself tighter. “They’re all crazy.”

“But you made it far,” I said, trying to raise her spirits. “And even took down Tevo in return. You also know now what Alchemists are capable of, so can be wary of that type of attack in the future. Alchemists may not fight in the Melee normally but the Assassin Devout, Ender, proved that their potions are still used. I wouldn’t have expected poisoned food either.”

Emsi glanced at me. “You saw me on the hill?”

“...we did,” I answered hesitantly, unsure how she’d react. “I’m sorry that we didn’t aid you. We had no way of healing you that I knew.”

Emsi turned away from me. “It’s okay,” she said, but her voice made it clear it was anything but. “It was Fargle who made me hate the whole damn thing more than I already did.”

“What did he do?” I asked but had the beginnings of a guess.

“The same thing Leeks talked about in the Cathedral: Fargle came and stabbed me when I couldn’t fight back. Couldn’t see or hear the bastard, but I’d know his stink anywhere, and what Leeks told us confirmed it.”

Fargle saying ‘three’ to me made sense now: he had finished off Leeks at the base, then Emsi halfway up, and finally me at the top, or so he had thought.

“I strangled him,” I admitted. It felt strangely good to say aloud: like an admission in the confession booths of the Crim’s cathedral. I hadn’t realized the murder of a former brother had been weighing on me until the words had passed my lips. I was going to thank Emsi for giving me the chance to say it, but I realized she was continuing to talk, like she hadn’t heard me.

“– should have gone with him and Fia,” she whispered. “Now I can’t leave.”

The words were exactly why I had come over to speak with her in the first place and hearing them shocked me into action. I grabbed her by the shoulders, turning to face me. In reaction, she punched me in the jaw.

We sat there blinking at each other, both seeming a bit surprised by what had just happened. I hadn’t tensed my skin, and she, luckily, hadn’t used her crystal blades.

“Sorry,” I said, gently releasing her. “I just don’t want to lose you, too.”

“Why not?” she asked, curled in on herself and not looking at all like someone who had just thrown a hell of a straight jab.

“I understand the weight you’re feeling, Emsi, I do. No one could grow up where we did and not. Maybe those who live on the outskirts are free of it, but we Tower-folk know that the future of humanity, of our very world, rests on our shoulders. That’s why it’s so important that we fight. I miss Leeks and Fia and all the others, but each of them, by leaving, is doing the demons’ work for them. We’ll need to work twice as hard now, three times more likely, to make up the lost balance. But if we succeed, Emsi” – I smiled at the near impossible image of it, something I had imagined many times – “we can free those who come after us from this burden. No one will ever need to feel the way we do right now again. Doesn’t that make it all worth it?”

Emsi looked at me, but her eyes seemed flat and the furthest thing from inspired by my words. “Wow, Sett. That was even worse than Deq’s kiss.” Then she got up and walked away, slipping through the sword curtain without a backward glance.

I contemplated following her, if for no other reason than to escape the sounds that were growing louder around me, but all I could imagine was botching the job a second time. Also, if I was being honest, I was rarely so open with my thoughts, and to have them treated with such disdain by her had left me wounded more deeply than the strike to my jaw.

I got up and hurried across the middle of the Hall. Most of my fellow Neophytes were in the surrounding alcoves, but I did have to step carefully around a few twined bodies. I was on my way to speak to Boast, a conversation I couldn’t possibly fail at, and as for Emsi…I’d tell Tamra about her troubles the next time we spoke. If anyone could reignite the shorter girl’s spirit, it was her.

Passing by the stairs that led to the Acolyte level, I was surprised to see none other than Aphos sitting halfway up. He was alone, which felt wrong to me after he had earned a new mastery, not even a drink in his hand. At a small internal urging, I changed my path and climbed the stairs instead of circling around them to Boast’s fiery home.

Unlike Emsi, Aphos reacted before I reached him. “Your ranking puts you at the top of the Neophytes, but it does not give you access to the upper floor,” he said. “You must be an Acolyte for that, or invited by one of them.”

A daydream of the Warrior girl I had noticed beckoning me upward flashed through my mind, but I didn’t linger on it, sitting down at Aphos’s feet.

“What advice do you have for me? Head of Hall to the top Neophyte?”

He looked down at me as if I were a particularly strange variety of pupil and then gestured to the revelry below. “Simple: enjoy yourself. There’s no need to be shy. You’ve seen each other die; after that, what is some nudity?”

“I appreciate your suggestion, but could you tell me about what my ranking means instead?”

He snorted, looking like he was humoring me. “You will receive a full twenty teeth tomorrow, which you can use for purchases in the Artisan or Alchemist Halls or other things you might desire. You may also access the Warrior’s Training Round whenever you wish and have priority over any other Neophyte, to the point you can dismiss them if there is not enough room or you wish to train in secret alone or with a few chosen companions.”

Everything he was saying was making me feel considerably better. My plan to use the ring to help myself, Aldric, Tamra, Maphen, and others was sounding much more possible if we had a dedicated space to practice. I wasn’t sure how much twenty teeth would buy me, but there must be something I could get from the Artisans or Alchemists at that price, otherwise Aphos wouldn't have mentioned it.

The Head of Hall didn’t seem to have anything else to tell me, so I voiced a thought that had been on my mind. “Could one of these rings be crafted for each of my brothers and sisters in the Hall?” I would ask for the same for Maphen if possible, but I figured that Aphos would be more likely to agree to help his fellow Warriors first.

“I told you,” Aphos said, sounding tired of our conversation already, “they are not your siblings. Not in truth.”

I tried to accept his words, but it was like being told that down was up or water was dry; I couldn’t get my mind to agree to the change, at least not yet. He must have seen the resistance on my face because he huffed a laugh.

“Or you cannot and direct that unspent energy into your training. Perhaps one day you’ll meet a gormek or demon you fancy instead.”

He chuckled loudly at the thought, but I did not find such a possibility humorous or likely. If I was to be with someone, it would be with an awakened whose bravery and mettle I respected. And as for a demon – I glanced up at the grotesque bodies that hung in dark recesses of the ceiling, refusing to let myself cringe – it was a ludicrous suggestion.

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“But what about the ring?” I asked, trying to steer our conversation back in a more productive direction. “If everyone had them, we could all advance faster.”

“It is not worth the expense or the time to create so many,” Aphos said. “It has its uses but is a low-grade magical item, and so will break once you become Devout.”

That was a new and important piece of information that no one had said before. Something about his tone also made me think that he had history with the ring.

“Did you have one before?”

“Me? No. Balthus was destined to become Head of Warrior Hall from my group. But before reaching Devout, he chose to climb the Tower.”

Aphos didn’t show it, but I could imagine the pain he had experienced in losing a comrade, like I had with Fia and Leeks, and the same for Holry, Penn, and Bask, all of whom had left today. What’s more, from the way Aphos spoke, it didn’t sound like he believed Balthus had reached the top. Before I could confirm my suspicion, the large Devout pointed at the twisted metal I wore on my finger.

“Balthus said the ring told him to climb, and if it did, we don’t need more than one of those things whispering nonsense to you new awakened.”

Was that how the ring bearer gained the ability to learn faster? If so, thinking back, I was no longer sure if the idea to speak with Aphos had been mine at all. The motivation for the decision hadn’t been a voice commanding me like a person would use but instead a subtle nudge. If that was how the ring’s power manifested, could I get its help whenever I wished or did I have to wait for it to choose the moment? And if what Aphos had just said was true, should I even listen to it when it did?

While my thoughts raced, the huge Warrior stood, stretching his back, which lengthened his already tall frame so that he towered above me.

“Where are you going?” I asked, remembering too late to whom I was speaking. In the Crim our superiors rarely liked their actions questioned.

Aphos seemed unbothered, finishing his stretch with a deep sigh. “To see Risahned, now that things have settled enough here. The same should be true in her Hall.”

“The Beast Kin Devout?” I gawked, remembering how the cat-like girl had ripped out his guts.

“Not all pairings are in the same Order,” Aphos explained. “Sometimes it can be more fun to venture afield.” He smiled suggestively as he said.

I felt my ears heat and did my best to ignore them. “But you killed her bond beast.”

“Haig? Yes, she will be bristly about that. But sometimes that makes our rendezvous all the better.” He winked at me and then leapt over the railing.

By the time I was up and down the stairs, Aphos had already departed through the Hall exit, the swords there swinging and clinking as they struck each other. That was hardly the loudest sound in the Hall now, so I quickly wrapped around the staircase, heading to the back of the room and away from the mixture of grunts and heavy breathing behind me.

Whatever Aphos had said, things here had most certainly not settled.

The large wall of flame felt like the sun on my face, warming my flesh and spirit, and crackled merrily. I had no idea what fuel made it burn or create such a noise, but I was grateful for how it drowned out other things I would prefer not to hear at the moment.

“Boast?” I called tentatively. I wasn’t sure if the remembrance lived in the fire or simply traveled through it. Even if it was somewhere else in the Tower, I hoped it could hear me and would come at my call. “Boast?” I tried again when nothing happened.

“Ah,” a voice said, the spirit of Warriors past stepping from the wall. “Forgive me for the delay; I do not normally get visitors at this point in the celebration. Have you and your chosen companion finished already?”

I blushed at the insinuation and then felt doubly embarrassed that I was reacting to it at all. These additional feelings were nothing but a bother, and I could see why the teachers at the Crim had locked them away from us for as long as they had.

“Not quite,” I said, and Boast raised an eyebrow of red light. I most certainly didn’t want to answer any questions about that so I started with one of my own. “What mastery can I get next?”

“Dedicated to the cause…” Boast said with what I hoped was approval, nodding their head. “I hear that is also how you won the Melee and ring. The other remembrances and I had a bet about it.”

“Do you also bet teeth?” I asked. It wasn’t an important fact, but I was suddenly curious, and the more I could learn about the Tower and how it worked, the better.

Boast laughed. “No, not much use for us, I’m afraid. We wager favors for each other instead, mainly information, but sometimes there are things one of us will want that another can provide.”

I had trouble imagining what spirits could do for each other beyond swapping overheard secrets, but I also didn’t want to travel too far down that rabbit hole, at least not now. “What about the mastery? I assume I can get any you told us about before?”

“That’s correct,” Boast said. “But let us have a seat, so that we may discuss things in more detail.”

“That is kind of you,” I said, as I joined the spirit on the flagstones, sitting cross-legged. “I can’t imagine that you are suggesting this for your own benefit.”

Boast smiled. “You are correct; as a spirit of the Tower, I never need rest or refreshment, but I remember keenly, in countless memories, the demands of a physical body. You have been through much this day, and you’ll have plenty to face on the morrow with your classes beginning in earnest. It is important that you take breaks when the opportunity presents itself.”

I thought Boast might be implying that I should have taken a break with someone, but I certainly wasn’t going to check. I considered asking for further details about the classes the spirit had mentioned, but I could do that after our conversation of masteries – I doubted any of my fellow Warriors would be making demands on Boast’s time right now.

“What more was it that you wanted to tell me?” I prompted.

“Unless there are exceptional circumstances, even with a Ring of Learning it will still take months of hard training to reach the rank of Upper Neophyte, where you gain another mastery.”

The excitement that had been building in me blew out. “So, you’re saying that I could have waited to ask you about them later.”

“Again, correct, but I understand that knowing what you’re working toward can create a drive all on its own, so I am happy to provide you with additional information now.”

The embers of my curiosity rekindled. “Which is?”

“First, that you can continue to invest in the Toughened Skin Mastery. It can be tempting to collect a mix of masteries, but by focusing on a few, you can make them considerably more powerful.”

“How much different would the next level of Toughened Skin be compared to what I have now?”

The light that made up Boast’s form flickered, and I thought the spirit looked somewhat…heated. “I was informed by Blaze, the Artisan Remembrance, that you were wounded by the spear that the Warrior Neophyte named Chikra carried.”

I flexed my hands at the memory. The pain of having them pierced had been equal to the agony of my side, especially when I had started to climb. None of the injuries I would soon forget, even if they were now all healed. The look on Boast’s face and the mention of Blaze made me wonder if this was also a pain point for the spirit – that a mastery from its Hall had been bested by a creation from the other.

I did not wish to lie though, so answered truthfully, “I was.”

Boast flickered again, perhaps in annoyance. “Advancing Toughed Skin would make you impervious to such mundane weapons.”

That would let me outpace my competition in the Melee, but I cared more for the War Above; the demons there wouldn’t be using simple weapons or sharpened stones.

“And after that?”

“You could resist low-grade magical weapons, and if you continue far enough, most of your outer body would become indestructible to any physical attack, magical or otherwise.”

It was tempting, very much so in fact. However, I would be giving up any opportunities at Offense or Armament, and more importantly, my survival wasn’t enough on its own; I needed to ensure that my companions lasted in battle, too.

Boast had said first, so there must also be a second. “What other options do I have?”

“Since you already have one refinement in Defense, you may choose to take the next mastery in that tree: Hardened Bones.”

That particular name tickled at my mind. “It paired with another mastery, did it not?”

“Crystal Knuckles,” Boast said. “With both, you may begin to push the bones through your skin. The process is much slower than forming crystals, but they are considerably more durable. This can even pair with your Toughened Skin, since you can tighten your skin around the bones, better securing them and minimizing blood loss.”

Like I had with my wounds during the Melee. But I would need two more masteries to benefit from the effect, and it sounded as if it would still be somewhat of a wait before I had another let alone both.

“What is the point of having Toughened Skin and Hardened Bones?” I asked. On their own, they seemed to do the same thing, and with the power I could gain from something like Greater Strength or an Armament Bond, I couldn’t afford to waste a mastery.

“It is true that cutting weapons that cannot pierce you cannot harm your bones. However, bones are naturally resistant to weapons, and with just a single mastery, they become impervious to mundane weapons and resistant to magical. So, even if your skin is broken, your organs will have protection. Also, if you are struck by a crushing force – like the flail I have seen Neophyte Ivun with, a large demon, or a long fall – your bones will shatter inside your body no matter how tough your skin may be. With Hardened Bones, you guard yourself against such possibilities.”

“And with more masteries my bones will eventually become indestructible?”

“Naturally,” Boast said, dipping their head of light in answer. “In addition, with greater refinement of Hardened Bones, you can begin to manipulate their growth. For example, lengthening your limbs, or fusing the portion of your rib cage around your heart together, making it nigh impossible to reach.”

“Can I do the same with my Toughened Skin? Change how it grows?”

“To a degree,” Boast answered. “As a first tier mastery, it does not have as much varied potential. You could, for instance, create thickened ridges of skin on your body to better deflect attacks or weapons. This pairs especially well with Crystal Knuckles, in fact.”

“It does?” I said, riveted by what new combination the remembrance would reveal next.

“Most certainly. With masteries of Toughened Skin and Crystal Knuckles, you can begin to grow sharpened crystals wherever you wish on your skin, and if you were to grow it on ridges that were already extended some from the rest of your body, it would allow you to become a Warrior that enemies would have trouble besting in unarmed combat or grappling because to strike or hold you would be to shred their own flesh.”

“And if I had Hardened Bones, too, I could push bone spikes out of different parts of my body?”

Boast grinned at me as if I was beginning to see the webwork of possibilities. “Precisely.”

“You have given me much to consider,” I said and meant it. A mixture of masteries like that would give me great defense and offense, and would build on my initial choice instead of branching into a different unsupported direction. But would it help me better protect my fellow awakened? Tamra and Aldric, especially, as well as Maphen?

“Then it is good you asked when you did, so you could have ample time to ponder the decision.” Saying the words, Boast began to drift back toward the wall of flame. I hadn’t expected the remembrance to depart on its own, which I now realized was foolish. It was more of a person than me, a collection of so many, of course it had its own desires.

“Thank yo--” I started, but then a cry of pleasure cut through the air. I wasn’t sure if it had come from behind me or the Acolyte level above, but either way, my folded legs felt heavy as weights, unable to move. “May I stay here for a bit longer?” I asked the spirit, not wanting to sound like I was begging. “To think?”

Boast eyed me and then gave me an amused smile reminiscent of the one Aphos had been using on me before he left. “Of course, young Neophyte,” the remembrance said, slipping into the wall. “If you need me again, simply call.”

Boast was consumed by the flame, its red form merging with the dancing tongues of fire. Alone and not wanting to turn around or call Boast back so soon after the spirit had been considerate of me, I decided to drop my forehead to the stone. I had hoped it might be cool, but it was warm, just like my skin and the sweat that was starting to flow from it after spending so long in front of the flame wall. I tried not to think about the reason why my former brothers and sisters would be sweating, too, and instead on how my upcoming choice could help win the Everwar above.