"You shouldn''t have risked going to pick it up," Errod said as he admired the glove on his right hand, "but... I''m glad to have it." It was a nearly perfect match, so he no longer looked like he was making an eccentric fashion statement.


    "It''s fine," Katrin replied as she dug through her bag, "I knew you would take a bit to get the wagons ready and moving, and I needed to get the map for our training spot, and it wasn''t even out of the way since I was dropping something off."


    Errod cocked his head. "What were you dropping off?"


    "And anyway," Katrin continued, "If you''re going to criticize someone, yell at Calliope."


    I was not prepared to be part of the conversation. "Whoa! What did I do?"


    "Well Callie," she said with mock patience, "when you''re concerned about being arrested for murder it''s probably best to not steal things from the body."


    Ah. That. "Okay first of all, it wasn''t on the body - it was laying nearby. Second, it''s a cool-looking sword with lightning powers. Third, it flies to your hand when you reach for it. That''s awesome. But... okay, sure. Point taken. And for the record, that last thing I said would kinda be a pun in English but the translation ruins it. Anyway, if we''re talking about who to criticize I think we should discuss how Errod was giving me shit for spending too much and then he put in a rush order for his glove."


    "If I hadn''t, when was I going to pick it up? We''re talking about being out in the wilderness for potentially months. Assuming we don''t get arrested, or hunted down by whoever those people were, or swept up by Lord Protector Hammersmith."


    Katrin looked nervous. "We have much better protection from scrying now, so long as we''re near the wagons, but no protection is perfect. They could push past with enough power, or by having a strong connection to us - blood and hair, or... I don''t know. Lord Protector Hammersmith would have found us already if she could - or if she wanted to enough - but I''m worried about this new attack. You said he mentioned a prophesy?"


    I paused in my efforts to fix Dopey''s harness, which had been twisted when we put it on in a rush before fleeing the city. I realized with how fast everything had happened I wasn''t certain of exactly what our attackers had said. "Yeah, but they were a bit light on the details. The one for sure mentioned saving the world, and they both kinda sorta referenced throwing Errod into an evil vortex of cursed... something."


    "The cursed crossroads," Errod corrected, "and the other said I would be thrown into a maelstrom of death ''when the time comes''."


    "I dunno man, sounds like an evil vortex to me. Anyway they said that, and implied it was a prophesy, and the one guy seemed upset about you reading the spellbook I think. They disagreed about if he could kill Errod before it was time for the prophesy; the robed guy said no, and the sword guy said yes because... people had used a loom and everything was fine? It''s... I don''t know, it''s a lot of random garbage to me. Errod thinks he''s destined to be the world''s greatest sword fighter, I''m from another planet nobody seems to know about, we''re some of the only people that are aware the whole world ended a few months back and just kinda reset, we''re literally the only three that know I actually broke the whole Duminere system and ended up with three Dumines, we have way more of those stupid fate string things attached to us than anyone else I''ve seen, and now some dude attacked us while saying there was a prophesy or something and he wants to chuck your brother into a curse pit - presumably somehow related to you getting that book. Oh! Oh! And the guy that caused the end of the world is still at large in a side dimension that only I can get into and that somehow is also the setting for a series of books I read back on Earth. Can''t forget that. Did I miss anything?"


    There was a moment of silence, and then Errod chimed in. "Your memories are inconsistent, and until you got your Dumines you could see the future in dreams and curse people. And that wild mage is after you, and a similarly-masked one stole my toe. Honestly, I think some of those could even count as multiple items - the fact that you''re from Earth is strange, but we also don''t know how you got from there to here. Just as an example."


    He was right, we could expand the list as much as we wanted. "Okay I swear, if one more random plot point drops in my lap I''m going to scream. In the meantime, I am absolutely not going to start worrying about this loom thing."


    Katrin made some glowing orbs and started them spinning in a complicated pattern. Before getting her Dumine she''d only been able to manage the one, and hadn''t been able to do that kind of acrobatics with it - now she seemed to do it as a form of nervous fidgeting. "I''m sorry, Callie. I didn''t want to add more to your plate."


    "Nah, I didn''t mean it that way. You guys have just rolled with all sorts of nonsense coming from me. It''s not... how do I put this? I''m fine with you guys being the cause of some of the drama. Fuck, that''s actually great news - it''s good to know it''s not all my fault. It''s just that it seems crazy to have these guys show up out of nowhere and imply that there might be even more stuff we still don''t know about when there was already so much. City guards, or some random dude yelling about you being a thief? Sure. Great. People appearing out of nowhere covered in tar or some shit and screaming about throwing Errod into maelstroms and world-ending looms and... fuck, that''s a lot."


    Short break over, we started to goad the moskar back onto the road. Katrin sat on the bench next to me, while Elba scrambled up to the curved roof of the other wagon with practiced ease. I could tell Katrin was thinking about saying something, but I just acted oblivious for the five minutes it took for her to start talking. "About the book," she started, quietly enough that the others wouldn''t hear, "I... don''t have very satisfying answers."


    I kept silent and just nodded. It didn''t feel like me pushing would help. She hesitated another moment, and then continued. "A few months back, our father was involved in something. When we talk about it we say it was just an accident, a misunderstanding, but... it couldn''t have been. The short version is that he burned a spice shop down, and when they cleared the wreckage there were bodies inside. We don''t know who, and my father wouldn''t say. He knew how to make fire and how to activate runes, just basic Imperial magic he learned without a Dumine, and he would go around at night and light the lanterns - magic and chemical ones both. But this happened just before dawn, closer to the time when he would have been putting them out instead. It would have been almost impossible for him to light a building on fire by mistake when trying to light a lamp, but when he was putting them out? It''s ridiculous.


    "I was awoken by the alarms for the fire brigade, and when I got there with my bucket - it was only one street over - I found father being hauled away. Errod must have gotten there just ahead of me, he was still waking up and seemed confused and... he insisted he had been sleepwalking, and had had a vision that he would become a knight of Brinkmar. He''d... he''d dreamed that he saved our father by fighting off three men at once. He''d never even touched anything bigger than a carving knife, but the next day while I was trying to figure out how we would get by without father he spent the last of our money on a sword."


    "A shitty sword," I added unnecessarily. "And again, this is the guy that gave me trouble about my spending habits? I''m surprised you didn''t kill him."


    She shook her head. "You don''t understand. I was devastated, I''d just watched my father being taken away for murder and arson and he wasn''t even defending himself. He just said everything would be okay, and that I had to take care of Errod. I wondered at the time if somehow... if somehow the fire was Errod''s fault, while he was sleepwalking. Don''t tell him I said that. Oh, gods. I shouldn''t have said it out loud, even. Errod didn''t have a hint of soot on him, his clothes weren''t out of place, it''s... It was my father. He even confessed to it, though he wouldn''t talk about whose corpses were in the remains of the shop. The owners of the shop insisted it should have been empty, they''d been in the apartment upstairs and had heard yelling and things breaking but had snuck out the back and run for the watch."


    "They didn''t do the thing where they use magic to make him tell the truth or look at his memories?"


    "Yallowsben doesn''t have anyone that can do that, and he''d already confessed to enough. The bodies weren''t of anyone local or they would have maybe pressed harder to find out. At any rate, I couldn''t be mad at Errod. He was... hopeful. I was barely hanging on, and he had purpose - I couldn''t take that away from him. All of this is... it''s not what I wanted to tell you, not really. The point is, when I dragged Errod back to the apartment I also grabbed my father''s lamplighter bag that was laying on the ground. It had his tools and things in it, or it normally would have - but instead when I got back and looked inside I found the spellbook. There were other things out of place. The old chest under his bed - which I''d never seen the inside of - was open, and there was a trail of blood leading out the door. I don''t know what he was involved in, or where he got the spellbook. I don''t know who the dead people were, or if my father killed them somehow, or if there were more of them.


    "Errod was acting erratically, trying to find someone to save as if that could bring our father back. I wasn''t any better, I was spending time digging into the spellbook hoping that I would find answers in there. Errod lost his job because of everything that was going on and couldn''t get another one since there were so many rumors about what our father had been up to. I still had my job, but that was just enough to cover our quota to keep our citizen''s rights - in Yallowsben that meant we were guaranteed enough food to keep us alive and free healing once a year but not much else. So I decided we had to leave, somehow. We were stuck with people talking behind our backs, all these people we''d known our whole lives who were supposed to be our community, our support. Most people live with at least a dozen aunts and cousins and... we didn''t have that. Even if there was no chance of whatever my father had been involved in coming back to bite us it just didn''t feel like home anymore.


    "It was too dangerous to go on our own, and we didn''t have a lot to offer to merchants to tag along. I was looking into it, but I wasn''t hopeful. And then... you showed up. Errod came running home saying we had a chance to get out of town, that he''d helped save someone who was being attacked by Kej and Lowan and they were leaving first thing in the morning. And after I got the full story out of him, well. Those two were going to kill us if we stayed, and I''d wanted to leave anyway. So now you know the rest of the story on why we were so eager to join up with some strange foreigners. And if you''d kept things to yourself we would have maybe parted ways at Theramas or something, who knows? But instead you talked to Errod about Brinkmar, and you got into that mess in Handoleren and I realized I was in the middle of something - and that both of you were going to get yourselves killed without me."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Sometimes, when people were nice to me, I would try to figure out what their motivations were. It wasn''t that I didn''t believe some people were just friendly, it was that it made me feel better to know what was in it for them, or what might make them change their mind. I knew my own reasons - I''d mainly been curious about the Van Halen logo, but I also wanted to learn magic and on top of that I''d had that fascination with stories of siblings having adventures together. Hell, that was where the name Connie had come from, that phase where I''d pretended to have a secret sister. But I''d had some trouble deciding what the deal was with Katrin.


    Initially, I knew the two of them wanted to get out of town to avoid those guys who had tried to mug me. Once we were on the road I''d decided Katrin just wanted to stay with me because she wanted to get to use a Duminere, and after that I figured it had something to do with the spellbook. But now? Now I was thinking it was the very last thing she just dropped. She might not even realize it herself, but it was all Handoleren. Her dad did something unexplained and crazy and burned a building down, and then I ran off without telling her what I was doing and lit a building on fire. And she decided she had to stick with me just in case she could... what, fix it this time around? Plus the parallels with Errod, she basically already admitted she thought I was crazy at first too and we were both impulsively inserting ourselves into situations that would be better handled by alerting the watch or something.


    Katrin leaned her head against me and continued talking. "And now I think things are crazy enough that we''re well and truly stuck with each other. So I guess... I guess it''s okay that this part is probably my fault. And it is; I could have left the book behind, or told someone about it, or... something. I guess even with the book and with Errod thinking he''s destined to be a knight of Brinkmar we''re not exactly even. Maybe I''ll go out and start more trouble somehow just to catch up."


    I was about to make a joke, and then hesitated. Was it a joke? "Katrin. What if he''s actually destined to be a knight of Brinkmar? Hell, what if this is all about Errod?"


    Katrin sat up and glared at me. "Don''t you dare, what an awful thought to put in my head!"


    "Before I even got here, he had a vision that he would be a knight of Brinkmar. And then - coincidentally - he runs into the one person that can get him there? Come on. And he''s getting better, a bit, or at least he hasn''t hurt himself since we left Erathik, and now that other guy said there was a prophesy about him! Oh my god. I''m not the main character after all."


    I suddenly remembered talking to Tony - the friendly drug dealer that was always on the corner near Universal Servicing Systems - about something. The memory fell apart as I tried to grasp at it, like when you wake from a dream. Something where he was telling me I was the comic relief.


    Katrin snapped me out of my reverie by grabbing my chin and turning my head to face her. "Please do not encourage him. Brinkmar was abandoned for good reason, my great grandfather didn''t just move away - he evacuated, with everyone else. They sealed the gates behind them, and every expedition that went there after came back horribly ill if they came back at all. Tantek wanted to destroy Brinkmar, and he did. And being a knight of a fallen kingdom doesn''t mean anything - who are you swearing allegiance to? What are you protecting? A cursed land that will kill anyone that lives there?"


    "A cursed land? So, the kind of place that might contain some cursed crossroads, maybe a maelstrom of death or two?"


    And something incredible happened. Katrin was struck completely dumb. Her eyes flicked back and forth as if she was frantically trying to think of a retort, and her mouth even opened a few times - but she was totally unable to form a meaningful reply. I felt bad for her. "Look, it''s fine. I''ll figure out how to read these fate things and we''ll go from there. It''ll probably be trivial to learn to just... I don''t know, cut them entirely or attach them to something else. And anyway, that asshole also said Errod''s death at his hands was a guaranteed thing and he''s super fucking dead now while Errod is doing great. So it''s bullshit regardless. When it''s time for me to open the way to Brinkmar, they''re probably not even going to let me in - let alone say I can bring friends with me. It''s a military operation, not a picnic. Don''t get me wrong, I''d go in a heartbeat even if it is cursed, but there''s no way that''ll happen."


    I didn''t mention that there was no way Brinkmar was as cursed as she thought it was, or Gilbrecht Halenvar couldn''t have been squatting there so long. She nodded, but still looked like she was worried. "Okay. Just... keep an eye out. I can''t count on my father ever getting back from Tarmestal, he''s going to be there so long and they say accidents happen all the time and... Errod is the only family I have."


    I smirked. "Well, not according to Errod. He called me his sister back when that guy was threatening us, said his ''sisters'' would beat that asshole to death if Errod died. He just lumped me in there because the guy already thought I was you, but I''m going to give him shit about it."


    Katrin looked thoughtful. "If you ever wanted to, you could be. Calliope Runelighter has a nice ring to it."


    "I know you''re not suggesting I marry Errod."


    She laughed - no, that was a full-on cackle. "No! Oh, I can''t even imagine it. And don''t look at me either, you''re not my type. I don''t know how it works on Earth, but - well, you talked a little about adoption and ''foster care'' and things like that, so I know people can change families."


    "Oh. Yeah, I mean... people marry into families, or they get adopted as kids. But I''m an adult, and I don''t plan on marrying anyone."


    "Those are the most common reasons here too, but it''s not strange to join yourself to another family as an adult. I knew someone with four families once, he changed his last name every week."


    "Seems like that would be a nightmare from a legal perspective."


    "It''s not about that, it''s... you don''t have true names on Earth, do you?" she asked, and then gazed off into the distance as she thought. "I suppose not, with no magic. So... before High Imperial there were a thousand different languages of magic. We''ve talked about that, about wild magic and the downsides to it - the way that sometimes it leaves lingering effects or doesn''t work the way you want. But before that, before people put language to it, magic was just intent and tradition and shared belief. That''s how the language works, too, and of course that kind of magic superseded most of the older things since language is better at lasting over time. But some traditions were so strong, or so foundational to society, that they stuck around. Things like the Sahrger hating iron is one example I think we''ve talked about, but connections we make and the names that go with them are the strongest. True names, ancestral blades, things like that."


    "So there''s some sort of declaration or ritual that just makes you part of a family, and the... what, the gods or the universe or magic itself just knows it?"


    "Essentially, yes. There are different ones in different cultures, but they all work the same way - an invitation is extended, through words or an offering of something significant to the family."


    Huh. Of course, she was joking about the offer to join her family. She had to be, we''d only known each other for a few months - not that I was interested anyway, I didn''t need to tie myself to anyone and get a bunch of stupid social obligations dumped on me. I''d tried out being part of a family a few times, and it wasn''t all it was cracked up to be. Shitheel hissed at a bird and watched it fly away, out over the winding road that stretched off over the hills. I found myself feeling strange. There was a tightness in my chest, a lump in my throat.


    By the sundered throne, by the name of the twelve kingdoms... I bind my blood and yours...


    It was something from the Jake Ross books, when he was adopted by the queen of Brinkmar. I couldn''t remember it exactly, and I wasn''t sure why I was suddenly feeling like I was on the verge of a panic attack. There was some memory, of me crying and someone trying to hand me a business card? Everything was so... fuzzy. These stupid imaginary memories needed to go. That was going to be my top priority when we started training. In the meantime, I decided to change the subject a little.


    "Okay, speaking of things that are significant to a family. This is, like, the millionth time someone has mentioned ancestral blades and I still have no idea what they are. Hugh called Errod''s shitty sword an ancestral blade to make fun of it, and everyone seemed to think the strange sword-thing we found in the vault was one."


    Katrin shifted into her teacher voice. "In the distant past, great warriors would find that weapons they cared for and treated as special would sometimes gain magical properties - it could be something as simple as always being supernaturally sharp, or as dramatic as shooting out lightning. As they were passed down and legends grew about them they became more and more powerful, and they were so important to how powerful families and rulers work that they''ve continued to exist even as magic has been tamed by language."


    "So I could just believe really hard and give my knives magic powers?"


    "No. Well, not easily. Maybe over a long enough time you could, if you were immortal - some demigods have weapons like that. But really it would need to be passed on to your child, and their child, and so on."


    "I didn''t think most weapons lasted that long."


    "If they''re made out of the right alchemical metals they can last forever, but that''s not really important. You can repair or re-forge it, and as long as everyone knows it''s the same weapon then... it is. Even if every part was replaced over time - it''s like a family that way. A family line might have any number of times where it changes through marriage, or passes down through step-children and adopted children, but it''s all the same family. In fact, for families with ancestral blades sometimes people join the family by being entrusted with it; being in the family allows you to wield it, but the inverse is also true."


    "Wait so... hang on. If I pick up the wrong knife I might be joining someone''s family?"


    "Now you''re being silly. I refuse to believe you think it works that way. Like any invitation it has to be offered and accepted. But if some powerful family chooses you as their champion, then by definition you''re part of the family. You can''t just use someone else''s ancestral blade without permission - that''s why that sword we found felt like it was going to kill you if you tried to pick it up. Not all of them are that powerful, or that dramatic, but you get the idea."


    "Then why was the auction house interested? And why did someone bother stealing it? If you can''t use it without being in the family, and that one was from some guy who died hundreds of years ago - presumably without heirs or the vault wouldn''t have been lost - what was the point of it?"


    "Well it''s still a valuable historical artifact. An ancestral blade has to be special, so you can''t really have more than one in the family. That means it''s impossible to have very many of them around, especially powerful ones. Old, powerful families have a lot of members but only the one blade. So owning one, even one you can''t actually use, is still something people can brag about."


    "I wonder if the Sword of Destiny was an ancestral blade?"


    "The what?"


    "Oh, it''s from the Jake Ross books. The second book is actually called Jake Ross and the Sword of Destiny. I guess it would have belonged to the queen of Brinkmar, if so."


    Katrin didn''t know, so I switched wagons and asked Errod.


    "Well, the first queen of Brinkmar was rumored to have the Clockmaker''s blade, but she was never seen wielding it. The Savior of Brinkmar had an ancestral blade, and my grandfather said it was given to him by the queen - that would be the original queen''s daughter, they lived a very long time - but he couldn''t say if it was the same one. If it was, it would prove the first queen of Brinkmar was the Clockmaker''s heir... but that seems unlikely, since she presumably would have claimed the title."


    None of that rang a bell from Earth. "Man, you and me are going to have to compare notes about Brinkmar. I wish I had a copy of the Jake Ross books."


    "Me too. I''ll do my best, but I''m no historian. I wish we hadn''t needed to leave Sentortzi in such a rush, we could have gotten some books. It would be good to be as prepared as possible before we go there, I need to be ready for anything."


    Which brought the whole thing all the way back around to how the conversation started - the fact that if it wasn''t all some ridiculous misunderstanding or delusion, Errod was destined to either become a knight of Brinkmar or die horribly there - maybe both.