"Have you been here before?" Namyis asked as she steered her golem carriage into the visitor parking area next to the Stability Center's long-term resident building.

She was in a good mood despite still being a bit tired from the day before. It made her happy enough that Bero had accepted her offer of bringing dinner, but him asking her to bring Seyli and Tava along was an unexpected bonus.

It was the first time a dragon had ever ridden in her carriage.

Seyli shook her head. "I've been to the main building a couple of times, but I've never been to this part before. Have you?"

"Yeah. Some of my colleagues have had to stay here. So I've come quite a few times to visit them."

"Oh." Seyli paused for a moment and then asked hesitantly, "Did your colleagues recover? Or...?"

"Most have. One's still living here. And a couple of them left the hard way."

"Oh. I'm sorry...."

Namyis shrugged. "It's just part of life for combat wizards. Some people go out on demon subjugations and never come back again. Some people go into the Stability Center and never come out again. That's just how it is." She shot Seyli a playful grin. "But there are also people you can't get rid of. They just keep coming back, time after time, no matter what they go through. A few battlemages have been on active duty for a century or more and are still going strong. Life is just unpredictable that way."

Seyli was quiet while Namyis found a vacant space to park the carriage in.

"Do you think Thenio's going to come here someday and not come back out again?" she asked in a small voice once the golem had stopped moving.

Tava, who was sitting on her lap, looked up at those words and whimpered a little. Namyis wasn't sure if she'd understood what Seyli had said or was just sensing her negative emotions.

Seyli stroked the dragon's back to reassure her.

"It's hard to say," Namyis said, watching them. "It's true that the odds aren't in his favor. I mean, he easily could have died last night if things had gone a little differently. So it's better to prepare yourself for the worst."

Seyli bit her lip and didn't reply.

"Still, it's not like we should just give up on him," Namyis continued. "That kid is full of surprises. And he has your brilliant cousin helping him out. It's not like things are hopeless. Life is unpredictable, like I said. We might lose Thenio next week. Or he might suddenly stabilize and turn out to be a fabulously talented wizard who lives another two hundred years. He could replace Ariom as Kafron's youngest grandmaster or become the Magic Corps' next demon hunter, for all we know."

Seyli smiled wryly. "I hope it's not the demon hunter one. Ariom would be so upset...."

Namyis laughed. "I know. Wouldn't that be funny to watch?"

"Would it...?"

"It would. Definitely." Namyis opened the door on her side of the carriage. "But for now, let's go inside. We don't want to make poor little Iggy wait too long for his special spicy fish balls."

"I'm still not sure we should be bringing spiced foods to the Stability Center," Seyli said doubtfully as she opened the opposite side door. "Don't they have rules about that kind of thing?"

"Oh, they do," Namyis said with a smirk. "But it's not like they're going to search my stasis pocket. We'll just sneak them in. Bero's in there, right? If he can make barriers strong enough to contain a rampaging revenant, I'm sure he can protect Thenio from a little bit of lavafish."

She was actually depending more on the two mythic agents than on Bero, but Namyis had decided not to mention them to Seyli just yet. She didn't think Eteon would want her to reveal his identity, and hearing about Brel in advance would probably turn the poor girl into an anxious mess.

She already seemed a little nervous just going out somewhere with Namyis for the first time. During the trip over from the Royal Academy, she'd been holding onto Tava a bit more tightly than was really necessary, considering that the orchid-colored dragon showed no signs of trying to get away from her.

"Well, if you say so." Seyli stepped down from the carriage and then held Tava up so she could climb onto her shoulder perch. "But if we get in trouble for it, you're the one who has to—" She suddenly broke off. "Kleyo?"

"Seyli! And Tava! Hi!" a young boy's voice called out happily from somewhere on the other side of the carriage. "Wow, that's a nice golem! Is it yours? Can I look at it?"

Namyis walked around the back of the carriage and discovered a boy with sandy brown hair, about seven or eight years old, already standing next to her gryphon golem and examining the joints on one of its legs.

"Uh...no, it's not mine. It's Namyis'. And you really should ask her permission before you— Kleyo! Wait!"

The boy looked completely captivated by the golem. He didn't seem to hear what Seyli was saying and had already gotten down on his hands and knees to look at the gryphon's underside. "These are Adarin-style joints, right? The design looks a lot like the ones on Ariom's golem. Did this come from the Delmao Workshop too? Wow...I didn't think I'd get to see another Delmao golem so soon! How are these paws constructed? Do the claws extend, or are they just for decoration...?"

"Kleyo!" said a stern voice from nearby. It sounded similar to Kleyo's but a little older. Namyis turned to see a thin boy with dark hair hurrying over to them. "Stop that! You're being rude. You need to get permission from the owner before you look at a golem. Come out and apologize!"

"Huh?" Kleyo finally came out of his golem-induced trance and turned his head to look at the boy who seemed to be his older brother. "It's not Seyli's golem?" He finally noticed Namyis, who was standing behind Seyli, and stared up at her with a chagrined look on his face. "Oh...."

He slowly crawled back out from under the golem, got to his feet, and stood in front of Namyis with his head down, fidgeting awkwardly.

"Um...I'm sorry. I thought...well, your golem is really nice, and I really like golems, so I was excited to look at it. So I guess I kind of...um.... I'm sorry...."

Namyis laughed. "It's okay. You really should be more careful and remember to ask permission properly next time, since some people are very touchy about their golem carriages. But I don't mind. And yes, I bought this golem from the Delmao Workshop. I can't tell you anything about its joints, though. You'd need to ask somebody like Ariom for that. It sounds like you know him?"

"Uh...yeah. I do! He showed me his golem carriage when he brought Thenio home to get his clothes and stuff." Kleyo looked over at the hospital building. "I wonder if we could ask him to come out...."

"No. We can't," his brother said firmly. "Ariom had to go help save Thenio last night, remember? So he's really tired right now. We shouldn't bother him any more. And we need to go home and have dinner. Mom and Dad are waiting for us."

"Oh...right...." Kleyo looked longingly back at the gryphon golem.

Namyis laughed again. "Maybe you and Ariom can look at my golem another time. Are you two Thenio's brothers? He's told me a little bit about you. Kleyo and...Lem, wasn't it? You both look a lot like him."

The adorable way Kleyo had stammered and fidgeted while he apologized was also strongly reminiscent of Thenio when he was feeling uncomfortable. But it was probably better not to mention that.

The two boys looked a bit surprised that she knew their names, but they both nodded in response.

"That's right," Seyli said. "These are Thenio's younger brothers, Lem and Kleyo Iterune. Tava and I met them a few weeks ago. You two, this is Namyis Ivoren. She's a battlemage who's been working together with Ariom and Thenio recently, so she came with me to visit them. You might have heard of her before? Her call name is Ice Queen."

Lem's and Kleyo's eyes both went wide, and Kleyo's mouth dropped open.

"Wow.... You're the real Ice Queen? Really?" he asked, staring up at Namyis in amazement.

"Yup! I'm really real!" Namyis replied, giving him a bright smile. "Here, I'll prove it to you. Hold out your hand."

Kleyo blinked in surprise but then obediently held out his hand. It was a little dirty from crawling under the golem, but Namyis ignored that. She reached out and held her own hand about a foot above his. Then she released a small stream of magic, which fell through the air like a tiny snowstorm, sparkling in the light. The particles coalesced into a four-legged figure standing on Kleyo's palm.

When Namyis lifted her hand a moment later, the boy was holding a small crystal replica of her gryphon golem.

"There you go. I know it's not as good as looking at a real golem. But make do with that one for today, all right? You can look at the real thing another time."

"Wow...." Kleyo breathed, staring at the crystal golem. His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head.

"Ah...but I don't mean to play favorites." Namyis turned to Lem with a friendly smile. "I'll make you something, too, if you want."

"Uh...no, that's fine. Thank you for the offer...but I'm fine," Lem said, suddenly looking anxious.

"Don't be like that. I'll feel bad if I leave you out."

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There was a good chance that he did want something but felt too embarrassed to admit it, so it was better to help him out by insisting. Namyis had already learned to do that with Thenio when he acted this way.

It was actually pretty cute that both brothers would have such similar habits.

She put a finger on her cheek. "Let's see...Thenio said you wanted to study alchemy, right? Then how about one of these?"

She held her hands up and released another stream of glittering crystal magic that swirled in a circle above her cupped palms, forming into the shape of a small mortar and pestle.

"I don't know much about alchemy, so I'm not sure exactly what these are good for, but the military's Alchemy Workshop asks me to make them sometimes. Something about the crystal being better for processing certain ingredients, I think? Anyways, maybe it's something that would be useful for you."

She held the mortar and pestle out toward Lem.

"Ah...I...uh...thank you." The boy reluctantly reached out and took them from her. Then his eyes widened, and he stared down at the objects in his hands with a surprised expression, as though they were somehow different than he'd been expecting.

Maybe he'd thought they were made of ice? People were sometimes surprised when they found out that ice mages could make other kinds of crystals.

It was a little strange that a boy who was planning to attend a magic academy in a few years wouldn't already know that, though. And was he so surprised that he had to keep staring blankly down at the mortar and pestle like that...?

An awkward moment of silence passed.

"Lem? Are you okay?" Kleyo asked, looking at his brother with concern.

"Huh?" Lem started and looked up, blinking. Then his face turned a bit red. "I'm sorry! I didn't...uh...I mean, I was just...um...."

His panicked stammering was suddenly interrupted by a loud cackling noise.

Everyone turned to look at a nearby tree. There was a magpie perched on one of the lower branches, watching them. It had its beak open and was producing a sort of rapid cawing sound, like it was laughing.

"Oh, be quiet..." Lem muttered, glaring at the bird. His face had gone a few shades redder. Then he turned back to Namyis. "Uh...thanks for these. I don't have any crystal alchemy equipment yet, so this is really helpful. Really. Thank you." He looked at his brother. "You should thank her, too, Kleyo."

"Oh, right. Thanks, Ice Queen!" Kleyo said, beaming up at Namyis. "My friend at school told me that battlemages are all scary. I'll tell him tomorrow that you're super nice and not scary at all!"

Namyis raised her eyebrows, a little surprised by that response. "You don't think I'm scary? It's actually pretty normal for kids to think that, since my magic power is so high. It's called a ranking effect."

"Ranking effect? Oh. Is that why Nilo thought that?" Kleyo tilted his head, looking puzzled. "Huh. Weird. You don't seem scary to me. What about you, Lem?"

"Uh...well...no, not really. I mean...I guess...you seem more normal than I thought a famous battlemage would be? I've heard they were all scary, too," Lem answered, still looking very uncomfortable.

"Hmm. Interesting. Thenio isn't scared of me, either. Maybe it's something that runs in your family?"

Namyis spoke casually, but it was definitely a bit odd. Even if chaos magic had an extra strong ranking effect, it shouldn't be the same for these two, since they had normal affinities.

She'd have to remember to tell Ariom and Bero about this later.

"Well, we're on our way to deliver dinner to a hungry little black dragon," Namyis went on, giving the boys an apologetic smile. "We shouldn't keep him waiting too long. And didn't you say your parents were waiting for you?"

"Oh, right!" Lem looked anxiously back in the direction they'd come from. "Grandmaster Sephior and the Royal Guard vice-captain are there, too.... Vice-Captain Ranior was about to take us home, but then Kleyo saw your golem, and...well, anyways, we should get going."

"Oh, Garem came here with you? I work with him quite a lot. We'll walk back with you and say hello."

Seyli's expression stiffened a little at that, and Tava nosed her cheek, looking concerned.

Namyis gave her an encouraging pat on the back. "It's all right. Garem acts a little gruff, but he's a good guy. And he's probably been working nonstop since yesterday, so I doubt he'll want to talk much."

Seyli didn't look convinced, but she quietly followed along as Lem and Kleyo led them back in the direction they'd come from.

It occurred to Namyis as they walked that maybe it wasn't actually Garem that Seyli was so nervous about meeting. Thenio's parents were over there, too, after all.

And to a seventeen-year-old girl, the parents of a boy she liked would definitely be scarier than a mere Royal Guard vice-captain.

----------------------------------------

Lem watched in silence while Kleyo happily introduced Mom and Dad to Seyli and Ice Queen and showed off the crystal gryphon that Ice Queen had made for him. Lem was standing as far back from the rest of the group as he thought he could get away with, but he could still feel his parents' anxiety, even from a distance.

Ice Queen's ranking effect must be pretty strong....

Lem didn't feel it, of course. Though he wished he'd thought fast enough to pretend he did when Ice Queen had asked. He could tell that she thought their response to her was a bit suspicious.

Kleyo probably did feel the ranking effect a little, but he didn't seem bothered by it. He'd spent his whole life around Thenio, after all. He should be used to the sensation by now.

But Mom and Dad were just normal, low-level magic users. A sixth-rank battlemage was clearly a little too much for them, even if she was wearing magic dampeners and acting perfectly friendly.

Seyli was, if anything, even more nervous. Though in her case, it was probably just general shyness around meeting new people. She'd been the same way when Lem had first met her at the park. He'd been surprised when he touched her hand and discovered that she was even more anxious about meeting him than he was about meeting her.

He'd felt a bit of kinship with her after that. He hated meeting new people, especially when there was any kind of physical contact involved. It was impossible to predict exactly how his magic would react, which could lead to some very uncomfortable situations.

He'd been especially worried when the Royal Guard vice-captain had come to their house and introduced himself a few hours ago. Somebody who dealt with criminals all the time could probably transmit some pretty horrible things....

But fortunately for Lem, Vice-Captain Ranior and his familiar had been working for more than thirty hours straight at that point, so all he'd gotten from them was a vision of endless paperwork and a strong feeling of exhaustion.

Meeting Ice Queen also wasn't as bad as he'd thought it might be. Although it had been a little embarrassing.

Lem looked over at the tree on the edge of the carriage parking area. As expected, the magpie was still sitting there, watching them.

Pai, what were you doing just now? he scolded her. You know you're not supposed to attract attention when you're around humans.

I know. But I couldn't help it! The look on your face was so funny! Lem could feel her amusement through the telepathy. What did you see that surprised you so much?

Essu. I saw her playing with Essu. They were having a snowball fight. She must have met him when she was in the Wastelands for Rift duty.

A snowball fight? That is surprising. Not many humans would dare to challenge Essu with his own element. Who won?

I didn't see. But obviously Essu would win. He's weaker than the other mythics, but he's still a lot stronger than a human. Lem glanced in Grandmaster Sephior's direction. Normal humans, I mean. Agents don't count.

That's just because they can cheat by using their mythic's power. Only a few of them are that strong by themselves.

Like Brel?

Like Brel, Pai agreed. And Saslin. Maybe Araela? Oh! And Akusah. Probably. I've never met him, so I'm not sure. But he should be pretty strong, shouldn't he? Though maybe he's not as strong now as he used to be.... Hmm. I wonder which agent is the strongest. Who do you think it is?

That's easy. Eteon is the strongest.

Pai sent over a small wave of annoyance. Don't act stupid, Lem. You know I wasn't talking about him.

He's technically an agent, though.

Lem could practically hear Pai rolling her eyes. Fine. Okay. Eteon is the strongest. So who's the next strongest agent?

Um...maybe Brel? Akusah probably used to be. But living on the other side sounds tough. I bet he's lost a lot of strength because of the miasma.

Yeah...you're probably right. Brel would be my guess, too. Pai's mood turned a little gloomy. She wasn't old enough to have ever visited the other side herself, but the older spirit beasts often told stories about it, so she'd always wanted to go there.

But no one had been allowed to go to the other side for a long time. Eteon could show them his memories of it in dreams, of course, but asking about it always upset him.

Well, no wonder. He'd lost so much because of those stupid demons. And they were still causing him all kinds of problems, even now.

Hey, Pai...is Eteon really going to be okay? How did he get demon poison on him, anyway? He always tries so hard to avoid it.

Peqeran told us it happened while they were saving Thenio and Focilo. I don't know the details. Eteon is staying away from us until it's gone, so I haven't been able to ask him about it directly. But he should be all right. He has Peqeran and Brel taking care of him, doesn't he? And Eteon isn't stupid. He wouldn't have taken on more corruption than he could handle. Before he took that kind of risk, he would just give up and call Thenio's spirit back.

Lem's expression darkened. But if Thenio dies....

It's bad if he dies, but it's still a lot better than Eteon demonizing. At least we'd have time to carry out our evacuation plan.

That's true...but.... Lem trailed off. Even using telepathy, he didn't know how to explain the sick feeling he got when he thought about losing his big brother.

And Thenio was his brother, no matter what anyone said! His kind, patient older brother who still cared about him, no matter how strange and unfriendly Lem's behavior must have seemed to him. He'd even given up all that money he could have gotten from the Royal Guard, just to help Lem and Kleyo with school!

If he died.... Well, it wouldn't quite be the end. Peqeran would keep Thenio's spirit safe, and Eteon would eventually make him a new body.

But he'd have to lose all his memories again. He'd still be Thenio. But he'd be a different Thenio. Not the one that Lem knew.

Pai didn't really get that. She was Lem's closest friend, and they'd known each other a long time. But she was still a spirit beast, and there were a lot of human things that she just couldn't quite understand....

Lem, you need to stop worrying about Thenio so much. Yes, he had a close call, but he's okay now. And he has Eteon and everyone else looking after him. Pai's voice became a bit stern. There's not much you can do for Thenio or Eteon right now anyway, so what good will it do to worry about them? If you want to help them, you should worry about getting your own magic under control first.

I know! Lem snapped. Then he looked down at the crystal mortar and pestle he was still holding and let out a small, discouraged sigh. I know that already....