When I came back to myself, I was crushed against my own body in complete darkness, contained on all sides. My knees dug into my chest and my arms were curled at my sides with only the barest bit of give. Then I realized I wasn’t breathing and – panic. I jerked and bucked, barely moving as something pressed against me in every direction. I could tell from the feeling of motion on my skin that I was encased in some kind of thick fluid, and my frenzy grew even stronger. I don’t know how long I gibbered there in silent, screaming fear before I finally realized that even though no air moved in and out of me, my body was not in any actual distress. There was no pressure in my chest, no pain in my throat, no creeping cold in my limbs that spoke of drowning. Against all odds, I was warm, safe, and perfectly contained in my tiny space.

Still, it was very strange, and I don’t like being confined, so as soon as I calmed and regained control of myself, I began pushing in every direction possible. Whatever held me in flexed and gave just a bit, hinting at both strength and breakability, if I could just get the right angle and enough force. That was the hard part. I flexed my elbows outward like a chicken’s wings, but I couldn’t get enough pressure in that direction to do much. What I wanted to do was turn a fist out and start punching, but there was no room for that either.

My back was starting to get uncomfortable in its enforced curve, and without thinking I stretched, pushing downward with the soles of my feet. My boundary stretched, then stretched a little farther, then gave a small crack. A thrill ran through me. The space around me felt just the tiniest hair looser than it had.

There still wasn’t enough room to get a good strike with my fist, so I scrabbled at the inside of my prison, rotating myself in the warm fluid until I guessed I’d turned to a right angle from where I’d been. Then I pushed out and down with my feet again. A bigger crack this time. It sounded like nothing so much as winter ice creaking underfoot. One more turn and another push, and I could definitely feel some give. I had more space to move.

Bracing my back against the rear and my knees against the front, I drew in my right hand, balled a fist, and made a perfect midsection strike just as my old trainer had taught. The blow moved sluggishly through the fluid, but I put my whole shoulder into it and was rewarded with another splintery crack. Was that a hint of light I saw in the spot I’d punched? Yes, it was. It was working.

Again and again I beat on the same spot, switching from one hand to the next. I might not be able to go toe-to-toe with a mantle-bearing Warrior just yet, but I was young and strong and sick of this tiny, impossible cell. After maybe a dozen strikes I saw a solid patch of light in the weak spot. I pushed at it with my fingers and felt a spongy, stretchy give. It was far softer than every other place now; I just had to focus my efforts. My hands couldn’t quite push hard enough to pierce the stretchy film between me and the light, so I rotated once again, floating in my warm fluid, until the light spot was directly overhead. Then I made a pointed tent with my hands over my head and pushed my feet down with all my strength, forcing my head and hands into the breach.

Push, push, push, and…tear. The film gave way with a sickly, sucking sound, and my head emerged into the light. I instinctively drew a deep breath, and it was the sweetest feeling of my entire life. It was too bright to see anything. Wriggling and pushing, I forced my way past the jagged edges of whatever had held me in and slid wetly onto a gently undulating mass.

At first I thought it was the other Neophytes, all naked and covered in goo just as I was, but my questing fingers found no skin, no hands, and no faces. Instead they felt smooth, jointed scales, soft, rounded surfaces, and flickering tongues. A soft, moving pillar wrapped itself around my chest, winding about me front and back. I wiped my eyes of the fluid that I’d been trapped in and found I could see.

I was resting in a tangle of snakes, each one as big as me. They had brilliantly colored diamond shapes on their backs of red, orange, and yellow, with dark green sides and white bellies. Some distant part of my mind railed at me in fear and disgust, but the greater part of me marveled at their beauty, their softness, and the way my limbs tangled with their bodies. A triangular snake’s head reared up in front of my face. Despite its incredible size, it was a baby, with oversized liquid black eyes. Its tongue danced over my face, and I reached out to stroke its smooth, scaled head, marveling at the fine gradations of gold and orange that crested its horned brow and crept up its back. Magnificent. Perfect.

The snake nestled its head in the hollow of my neck and I curled myself around it just as it was curled around me. The whole clutch were my brothers and sisters, but this one was special. This one understood me. Suddenly exhausted from my efforts, I closed my eyes and let the embrace of my brother lull me back to sleep.

* * *

Some time later, I found myself back in the Beast Kin Den, sitting right where I’d started by the fire, still dressed in someone else’s loincloth, a slender pit viper twined around my forearm. I’d been there for some time, it seemed, just staring at it. It stared back, tiny tongue flickering in and out in a way that felt inquisitive. It was perhaps as long as my forearm, and it was without a doubt the most beautiful creature I’d ever seen.

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I was birthed as a snake. I nested with the clutch. I don’t know what I’d expected from the Bonding ceremony, but it hadn’t been that. I knew in my heart I’d never forget it. The sense of accomplishment I’d felt when I broke out of the egg, the peace of twining together in sleep with my bond beast: they were indelibly written onto my soul just like the voice of the Guardian Knight saying persist. I stroked the head of my tiny snake and it preened under my fingers.

All around me the other Neophytes held their bond beasts. Some of them wept, and I didn’t blame them. One boy had a wolf pup lying across his lap, and Orm had a tiny, long-tailed monkey perched on his shoulder. The impressively-built girl I’d noticed before was cupping a baby bird of prey in her hands. It was fluffy and cute, but it had a wickedly sharp beak.

Time passed and my mind started working a little more normally as the dream herb wore off. I rose and moved away from the fire to let the others chat with their friends. I found my gray tunic and pants folded in the low crook of a tree a few paces away and went to the far side to get changed, holding my snake carefully. It twined playfully around my arm as I dressed, moving away from my clothing as I pulled it on, making a game of chase out of the simple act of putting on a tunic. I couldn’t help but smile, but as I thought through my situation, I was growing more and more troubled.

When I emerged, Hestus had just finished talking with Orm’s sister and moved toward me, giving us some space away from the others. A white-headed eagle sat on his shoulder. “That’s a beautiful bond beast,” he said, gesturing to the viper now sticking its head out of the neck of my tunic. “Not to mention being eminently useful. Once you put a couple of masteries into him his venom will develop. It can’t hurt you, but it’ll stop anybody else in their tracks, even a decent-sized demon.”

I struggled for words, and Hestus waited, empathy painted on his face. “I don’t think I’m a snake,” I finally said.

He put a hand on my shoulder, being careful not to squish my viper. “When I look at you, I see a man going his own way. He waits, he calculates, and then he strikes at just the right moment. A bit of a loner, perhaps? Deadly in his own way…or at least he will be, when he gets a little bigger. These aren’t bad things.”

“I suppose not,” I said, “but look at him. He’s so tiny.”

“Sunspot vipers grow to be three meters long,” he said. “I can think of many worse bond beasts with which a fellow might climb the Tower.”

I felt a spike of pleasure to know that my little guy would grow to be such a fearsome creature, but a second later my heart fell again. “It’ll never happen,” I said. “I need something that can help me fight now. Look at him: he’s slow and he’s tiny. If I take him into the fight, he’ll get chopped to bits, and what’s he going to do, gum people to death? If I don’t place at least fifth in the next Melee, I’ll be thrown out. Does the ceremony ever make a mistake? Could I do it again?”

Hestus shrugged. “There are those who have more than a single dominant aspect to themselves. It’s possible that if you went through the ceremony again you’d end up with something different. But Maphen, even if you manifested a lizard that could grow into a great dragon someday, it’d still be a baby. We Beast Kin rarely excel at the Melee until later, when our beasts are grown and we share some masteries with them. I don’t think another go would help you.”

I pulled the little viper from my shirt and nestled him in my hand. I knew he was dangerous, but I felt perfectly at ease with him. I wasn’t even sure how I knew it was a him, but I did. “I don’t know what to do,” I said, not looking up at Hestus. “He’s beautiful. I’d be happy with him, I know it. We’d do well together. But if he can’t help me win right now, I won’t get to keep him anyway.”

“You’re in a difficult spot,” Hestus said.

“I should have just chosen at the beginning,” I burst out. “I’m such a fool.”

“Maybe,” he said. “Or maybe you’re wiser than you know. Time will tell.” The eagle flapped its wings and soared aloft, and his eyes followed it. “I’ll leave you be for now. Stay for a while if you’d like, but as much as I hate saying it, you’d best head out of the Den before nightfall. This was an official Beast Kin training session, so I wasn’t about to let you miss it, but your father really will make trouble if I allow you to sleep here. I’m sorry.”

“I understand.” Bitterness welled in the back of my throat. How is that man my father?

He gave me another hug and left. I shook my head. The Beast Kin Elder was not what I had expected, but I could see myself very easily getting used to his empathy and kindness. This was a good place.

I didn’t rejoin the others, though I could hear them talking excitedly about their animals and the plans they were making about their Mastery paths. Instead, I sat well back in the trees and played with my viper. The sun was shining, the air smelled sweet, and I passed the happiest hour I’d had since I entered the Tower. I thought of a dozen names for my viper, but none of them seemed quite right.

And in the end, that simple fact clued me in to the obvious. I stayed a while longer, setting out little sticks and blades of grass for the little guy to strike at. He was perfect, and my heart hurt for him and me both.

I knew I had to go back to the halls and my cold floors. If I didn’t, my father would take it as evidence that I wasn’t keeping my end of the deal and somehow make my life even harder. I still wanted to stay in the Tower. After seeing the Guardian, it was the only future I could imagine. There was a war I needed to help with, and not father nor demon nor calamity would keep me from it.

When I eventually left the Den, I left alone. One last glance back showed me tiny diamonds of gold, orange, and red disappearing into the grass, and I suspected I’d never see them again.