At last came a day that Aleicree was dreading: the potluck at the end of zir month with Vrekant. The month had felt like a long time, and so it wasn't the parting itself that zie dreaded. Rather, it was all the dragons who would be attending. The many rooms of Vrekant's sprawling house would see their use when a whole bunch of dragons came in to visit. All month they'd been inviting everyone who said yes to going to Nidrio.

It promised to be a fun time for dragons more extroverted than Aleicree zirself. The whole house would be crowded with vrash. The big room with the firepit would fill and overflow.

The first guests arrived before Aleicree woke up, so that as zie came out of a bedroom not far from the centre of the house zie realised that there were already noises of life out there. Vrekant was up and about, but following the sounds of conversation Aleicree found two other dragons whose names zie had to fetch out zir Founders Notebook to look up. They were Steinack and Rokalenth, who were green-scaled with blue stripes and a dark metallic violet respectively. Steinack was the one who had a mate in Sorjek with a peculiar hatred of flying long distances. Rokalenth meanwhile was still too pretty to be a farmergon, but his particular quirk explained a lot. He'd said hardly anything in a conversation full of long pauses. Aleicree's notes were sparse on Rokalenth.

A great table was set up in the big fire pit room, and two stew pots had taken places on it next to a great pile of trencher bread. The stewpots had temperature gauges painted on the side, suggesting they had warming charms on them, and likely they had keepfresh enchantments. Who would place one without the other? These were very expensive pots.

The sounds of conversation came from Steinack and Vrekanth; Rokalenth was just standing nearby looking pretty.

"You oughta have guests over more often!" said Steinack as Aleicree entered.

Vrekant said, "You lot are the ones feeding me. Are you sure you don't mind feeding dragons who aren't contributing?"

"Pshaw!" scoffed Steinack, grinning broadly. "We're mostly paying you in food anyways and the harvest’s usually perfect. We're happy to share the surplus."

Aleicree came up to the conversing dragons. "Why do you put so much land under cultivation if the result is wasted food?"

Steinack smiled at Aleicree. "Market grows a little every year, and which part's most demanded shifts all the time. Farmergons around here grow a variety of crops, too. Sharing keeps us from eating the same thing all the time."

"Share a bit more with Rhis," Aleicree said, "I went over to his house yesterday and he had a lunch of nothing but peas."

Steinack's eyes widened. "Nothing but peas? That poor fellow. I think we might've been forgetting about him, but he's just so shy it's easy to do. I'll put word around."

Vrekant asked, "How'd gifting a book to Rhis go?"

Aleicree took zir copy of The Tansy Heresies out of a pouch and held it up. "He loaned me a book to copy. It's pretty fascinating, too!"

"Ah, wonderful!" said Vrekant. He turned to Steinack. "I think Rhis got into farming to have time to read through the summer."

"Did he now," Steinack said.

Aleicree peeled off and looked towards Rokalenth, who had been apparently listening without speaking all through the conversation. If I were a bolder dragon, I'd tell him he should meet a paintergon, Aleicree thought. The world could use more portraits of violet dragons. He returned zir gaze and zie blushed, leading him to tilt his head quizzically.

Aleicree fled the three rather than admit what zie was thinking to Rokalenth.

Zie wasn't sure what to do with the morning, but zie had a copy of The Tansy Heresies and was intending to keep this one, so zie settled near a wall in the big fire pit room and flipped through it. Rhis' interpretation of the Rift cult had been so different from zir own... Zie re-read bits of it, trying to find hints of heroism.

Gradually, as Aleicree read, vrash arrived carrying stew pots and ladles strapped to their backs. With a little help from Vrekant, who stayed posted near the table talking to whoever was nearby, the pots from the arrivals were placed on the food table, so that it filled up with things to eat. Nor were all of the stewpots bearing stew, but two of them brought potted roasts and one brought a pot full of fish fillets. Vrekant brought out platters for the meat items; the roasts were carved and the fillets were laid out.

Azosta and Limist woke up as well. They hadn't eaten breakfast yet, and weren't accustomed as Aleicree was to skipping meals, so zie wasn't surprised to see Limist take a trencher and peruse the first stews on the table. A slice of meat took its place on that bread-plate as well.

Azosta however gravitated towards Aleicree and asked, "How is that book?"

"It's interesting," Aleicree said, "But I don't understand how magic lore really works, so far. This is supposed to teach something of the arcane principles, but I don't get it."

Azosta said, "I don't want to advise. You're better off not getting it, and using non-magical means to solve problems."

Meeting Rhis made Azosta's anti-magic attitudes less appetising. Azosta believed in, what, narrative underpinnings of reality that could be undermined by magic? Aleicree swallowed a rebuff to Azosta, and said instead, "I'm still looking forward to seeing what Praoziu makes of your anti-magic attitudes."

Azosta smiled at that and glanced out a window. "I'm looking forward to the flight, then. This'll be the first time I've had a land god listen to my ideas."

"Seeing you meet Praoziu should be good, but today is gonna be awwwful," moaned Aleicree.

Azosta peered at Aleicree. "What's so bad about today?"

Aleicree sighed. "Thirty three near strangers, and I've no idea what to do with myself."

Zie ended up hanging out with Azosta for a while. Some of the farmergons avoided him. Others sought him out. They'd heard him before, now several wanted to know whether he considered vrash surface reformation to be magical; he clarified that he did not. "What about weather magic?" came the follow-up question, and Azosta sighed and said he didn't count that either.

"The in-born magical gifts don't cause serenity drain or spellwasting, and their use can't be limited. Weather magic is an extension of the vashael gift," explained Azosta.

"I think you're just taking the easy way out on a flaw in your ideals," said one of the farmergons.

"Wouldn't we be richer with the stories of food shortages?" asked another, laughing.

The knot of farmergons dissolved around Azosta, who wilted. "I've been digging out wells for them all month, and they aren't friendly with me at all," he said.

Aleicree patted Azosta on the shoulder. "They see magic as integral to their daily lives," zie said.

"They might actually be richer with stories of food shortages," said Azosta, quietly. "The higher food prices would make this less of a poverty wage."

That sounded chaotic to Aleicree. "Some would be richer, others would be poorer, and the world would contain much more misery. If we can't find good stories in happy times, how can we hope to live forever?"

Azosta sighed, shrugged, and went off to get some food.

Without the now-familiar Azosta standing next to zir, Aleicree felt alone in the growing crowd. Zie pulled out zir founders notebook again and tried to see individuals in the crowd, but it was just too many dragons. Zie felt overwhelmed, and the farmergons weren't even all here yet. How was zie going to lead these dragons to Nidrio? Was zie going to have to introduce ALL of them to Praoziu?

To escape the crowd, zie went outside. The big room with a firepit also had a double door that led outside.

The backyard itself was a small forest. It was much the same as when Vrekant had showed it off that day he got off from work. The mostly bare dirt was a healthy colour like the dirt in Rhis' field, and it was hoisted by the roots of trees, presenting a rumpled ground. The tree canopy was well above them and the underbrush had been kept clear of the bushes and fallen branches that would grow in a wild forest, leaving only some weeds and grasses clinging tenaciously between the trees.

Aleicree spotted shelf mushrooms on the sides of some of the trees and was drawn nearer by the sight. Each of them was black near the tree and red-banded across the middle, with a yellow ring around the edge that faded nearly to white.

Alas, it was only a momentary distraction from Aleicree's great nemesis: the party itself. There were still dragons out here - Aleicree saw a game of ringer under way, in fact - but the openness of the back forest did wonders to ameliorate the sense of crowding. The shade of the trees was pleasant, as was the swishing sway of the branches overhead in the light wind.

There was almost always a bit of wind in Sorjek. The tampered weather was forever seeking to get back to equilibrium.

Aleicree went over to that game of ringer. Farard was over here, along with (Aleicree checked zir notebook for names) Naburyen and Soltia. There were too many dragons here zie'd hardly met. Despite zir pretence of writing the Founders Notebook, zie thought zie wouldn't likely meet most of these dragons again. Farard was only memorable for making out with Vrekant most of a month ago, though his dusky purple coloration was still attractive.

Unfamiliarity didn't have to stop zir from flinging bent pieces of iron at a stake. Zie watched for a round. When they were picking up the irons after, Aleicree walked right up and asked, "Can I join?"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Sure!" said Farard. "We’re glad to have you.” He gestured to a box full of pieces of metal that had each been bent into a U-shape and then painted. A rod of metal extended horizontally from the box to mark the throwing position.

Aleicree watched as Farard moved into position, sat up to free his forelimbs, and gently lobbed a red iron at the stake. It went off to the side and landed nowhere close to the stake. The queue was Farard, Naburyen, Soltia, then Aleicree.

"So... Are all-day events normal just before travelling?" Aleicree asked, by way of making conversation.

Soltia said, "Before harvest, yeah."

Naburyen took Farard's place and lobbed a blue iron. It was closer to the stake than Farard's, but not very close to the stake.

"What do you do at these events?"

Soltia stepped into position. "Besides play irons?" she said. She tossed a green iron and it fell just short of the stake. "We say farewells between those who are and aren't going."

Aleicree took zir place to toss a pink iron... and cringed as it went off to the side. It clanged into Farard's iron. They didn't have to get close to the stake to score this round; it clearly went to Soltia. Soltia started down the course to pick up the irons.

Naburyen grinned at Aleicree's throw. "We also gossip about where we're going. This little trip to Nidrio will spread beyond just who you recruited."

"You mean there'll be more dragons?" Aleicree asked, aghast.

There was surprise and laughter in the group, and Naburyen rushed to explain, "No, no. I mean we'll tell each other all about it. This is a close-knit community."

The queue reformed for the next round, same order as before. This time, Farard's throw was true, but short. The iron landed just short of the stake.

"I'm not actually going," Soltia said. "I know I said I would before, but I don't think I want to meet a land god at all. I just like a quiet life."

Naburyen took their attention by stepping into the throwing position. He lobbed the iron hard, but not at the stake. The whole group flinched as Naburyen's throw bounced off a nearby tree. "Careful with those," said Farard, walking over to grab the out-of-bounds iron.

An abashed Naburyen drooped at tip and tail. "Sorry."

Soltia took the next throwing position. "I want to hear about Nidrio from everyone else though, so I still showed up today." She threw the iron lackadaisically, and it went well short and off to the side.

Aleicree stepped up. "If anyone actually moves there, they'll be making history," zie said. "There isn't a society in Nidrio yet. It'll be up to the first residents to make one." Zie threw the pink iron, and threw it perfectly, jumping in shock as it landed right on the stake. Spinning about the stake on impact, it rang out.

"Ringer!" cried Farard.

Since Aleicree had won the round, zie walked out to pick up the irons.

They played a few more rounds. This was a low-stress activity out in the yard away from the crowd, and Aleicree was grateful for it. They remarked on who won each round, but didn't bother keeping track; it clearly didn't matter who was winning.

Eventually, a small crowd of other dragons gathered about the stake, and Aleicree gave up zir spot so someone else could play. There were too many dragons again. The whole month had been a parade of strangers, but at least it'd been in smaller numbers!

Aleicree was tempted to retreat to zir own room to write a letter. Dear Dad, zie composed in zir head. I think I'll be returning to the sea soon. I'm not fit for life in the city or the countryside. There are too many dragons in the world and I am very introverted. Even out at sea, I didn't meet everyone in that much smaller maritime world.

This letter's chance to exist was dashed when zie got back to zir room and found that Rettle had taken it over. Zie was playing zir favourite game with a full party in the room Aleicree had been sleeping in. The room was full of dragons sprawling on the floor around the Eternal City set with its shapeshifting game pieces.

Rettle lifted zir head to look at Aleicree. "Oh hey, we're full up this round," Rettle said, "But if you want to stick around we can maybe give you a slot in the next round."

"No, that's okay. I was looking for a room away from the crowd," Aleicree said.

Rettle sat up. "Oh, just keep looking down the bedrooms. A few of them have Vrekant's board games being used like this one, but you should find an empty room eventually."

Aleicree ducked out again. An empty room without my letter paper, zie thought with a sigh.

There was no escaping other dragons. The sprawl of Vrekant's house made sense now; clearly the locals had descended on him on other occasions, too. The house was built to give a place to gatherings.

Aleicree wanted none of that.

These dragons were saying farewells, gossiping, and "being close-knit" with each other. Aleicree felt like an interloper anyways.

Zir stomach rumbled, so zie went for the trencher bread and stews, but then zie carried it around looking for Vrekant. When zie found him, he was deep in conversation with another of the local farmergons whose name Aleicree hadn't memorised, and this time zir hands were too full to go for the notebook in its pouch.

Zie waited nearby for an opportunity to speak to Vrekant. When he looked towards zir, zie asked, "What's our travel plan? Will we be going around gathering dragons tomorrow?"

"No," said Vrekant, "No need of that. I have a great surplus of bedrooms for this reason. We'll gather together the farmergons who are going with us and we can set out from here at first light."

Aleicree gestured with zir spoon. "After I eat, I'm going to go for a flight. This place is too crowded, and I don't know these dragons."

"Take Azosta," said Vrekant. "I'm afraid he's miserable today."

So Aleicree wandered the house between bites of stew, and eventually found Azosta holding the gnawed-on remnants of a trencher slice. Zie beckoned to him, and he perked up. "Let's go out front," zie said, and soon the two stood on Tavanth Street finishing their food.

The two of them were soon flying over Sorjek, getting away from the crowded house of Vrekant to enjoy a long flight together. They roared and swooped and eventually went down by the seaside to skim the water and swim together, and the low density of the seaside district in Sorjek was a relief after the crowding of thirty three local farmergons descending on the house of Vrekant.

Vrekant's house was still uproarious when Aleicree got back that evening. Well... Uproarious was an unfair word. The farmergons weren't wild dragons. There wasn't even any alcohol being served. Still, it was noisy and packed, with only a few dragons having left already.

Aleicree and Azosta had dinner from what remained of the potluck after it'd been grazed on all day, and then checked on the room Aleicree had been staying in. Discovering that Rettle had left it, the two set up in there with the door tightly closed. It wasn't really time for bed yet and at first this was awkward; the two were mutual outcasts avoiding the party, but that didn't mean they knew what to do with each other either.

After a few false starts at conversation, Aleicree settled on telling Azosta the story of Kintos and The Tansy Heresies. Azosta's reaction to the story was much more similar to how Aleicree had reacted than it was to how Rhis had reacted, with Azosta agreeing that the Rift cult were obviously the villains of the tale. He went so far as to say, "Theomes ought to have some kind of defence against organisations like that manipulating them."

"I don't think that would've worked here," Aleicree said. "The tansy cult was operating with the approval of the land god. Kintos was out of favour."

Azosta set his jaw. "Well, it won't happen anywhere else. They were using necromancy, weren't they? That’s why so many theomes try to root out necromancers. This kind of activity is 99% criminal."

Aleicree didn't mention Rhis' offer to summon a wolejerrup. The conversation got a little uncomfortable then, although Aleicree pushed on talking about Rift as 'the broken lore", leading up to asking Azosta, "Do you really want to condemn something that starts with 'the shattering of the knife'?"

Azosta huffed. "It's still the lore of conflict, and the only magic lore that doesn’t lead dragons into disharmony is the merciful lore, which I still don’t recommend. The safe magics are the inborn gifts, or the spells based on them, which don't involve delving into mystic lore to achieve.”

Aleicree grinned at Azosta. "If I set you up in Nidrio, are you going to be keeping everyone harmonious?"

Azosta looked at zir with a surprisingly earnest expression. "I'm very likely to move in, but when I do, what do you want me to do there?"

At this, Aleicree realised that zie hadn't shared with Azosta zir thoughts about how he could ameliorate Praoziu's inexperience. How his anti-magic ideals could help Praoziu build a settlement with satisfying challenges. "I want you to be a new geomancer for my mother," zie said, and then raised a hand in placation when Azosta's expression soured, adding, "And a new kind of geomancer. I want you to talk to Praoziu about how magic drains the stories of the world, and help her to shape Fate in Nidrio to have less of magic giving away easy answers for free."

"You really believe in my position, then," Azosta said, sitting taller.

Aleicree pulled back from him, zir gaze sliding away. "I'm not sure," zie said, drawing the I’m. Zie felt pulled between their two ideologies, one of them against magic and the other in favour of it. "I just think Praoziu really would benefit from your influence."

Azosta said, "It's strange to think of a land god as needing the influence of a lesser divinity."

Aleicree looked directly at him again, and smiled. "Well, that's Praoziu. She was a brutal loner before Taisach reached her. She's only newly begun at weaving Fates to try to create a future with dragons settling in Nidrio. So far, the theome's future is still pretty empty."

Azosta nodded. "I'll do my best. Hey, Vrekant said that we're leaving at first light, right?"

Aleicree said, "That's what he told me."

Azosta walked towards the door of the room. "I'm going to go see if my own room is free, and maybe chase out whoever is in there if it isn't. Goodnight, Aleicree."

"Goodnight, Azosta."

That left Aleicree alone in the room. Zie thought of Rhis again. Zie hadn't seen Rhis at the party. He was supposed to be here somewhere. The party was dying down outside as other dragons also went to bed to be ready to travel in the morning, but it wasn't quite dead yet. Aleicree decided to leave zir room to make one last canvas to find Rhis.

This time, zie asked where he'd gone. Zie greeted loitering farmergons by name (with zir Founders Notebook in hand to get them right) and asked if they had seen Rhis. A number of them had seen Rhis, but nobody reported having talked to him. "Oh, he's so shy," said one. "Such a wallflower!" said another. "I think I saw him outside, all the way on the edge of the yard," said a third.

Following that tip, Aleicree went outside and walked through the miniature forest that was Vrekant's back yard. Zie saw a dragon through the trees, seated on the edge of the field just past the trees, all limned in starlight. Rhis?

Aleicree crossed through the trees, and the dragon at the back edge of Vrekant's yard glanced up at zir. Zie waved a wing (hoping the gesture would be visible, shadowed by the trees as zie was) and called ahead, "Rhis? Is that you?"

When zie got close, zie saw that it was Rhis. His pink scales were drained of colour by the starlight; his grey mask was a deeper darkness on his face. "A-Aleicree," he said. "One of the o-only dragons here I c-care to talk to."

Aleicree frowned in concern. "Are the locals unfriendly to you?" zie asked, thinking about how Azosta had gotten along poorly this month.

"No, they're f-fine. They just... aren't studious," Rhis said. "And I thought I didn't n-need to talk about my s-st-studies, but... I haven't been gifted v-very many books, either. It was nice to, um, have someone sharing my interests."

Aleicree bumped zir nose at Rhis' snout, and he pulled his head away. Aleicree stayed close. His speech impediment made him seem so harmless, but he was proposing to use a strange and dangerous magic. "I'm really curious what Praoziu is going to say to your proposal to use a necromantic spell on her behalf."

"I-I-I hope she doesn't h-hate me for it," said Rhis.

"I'm sure she won't." Aleicree pulled back again. "You're staying here tonight, right?"

Rhis glanced back towards the house. "Y-yes, of course."

"Come join me in my room. There are two beds, and I can spare you sharing a room with someone else."

Rhis looked at Aleicree for a moment, then looked upwards at the stars. "I'll... I'll be a bit," he said. "I like being outside at night."

"I'll stay out here with you, then. Otherwise, you won't know which room is mine."