I piloted my body out of the library so I could go to my meeting with Talia Candecky, annoyed at my total failure. Not at driving my body around remotely, that was going pretty well, but at finding anything I''d wanted to in that fucking maze of books. At least I wasn''t tripping anymore, and probably nobody would notice something was off unless they were really looking closely. It was part of the daily exercises I''d assigned myself, since I had some high priority plans that required me to be as smooth as possible at doing things from a third person perspective, like playing a video game.


    I realized suddenly that my body had kept walking while I looked around for a landmark, and had even swerved to avoid a student that was clearly late for something. Thinking about how cool my pseudo-autopilot was sadly made me stumble to a halt, and then I had some difficulty getting going again - it was like when you thought too much about breathing or what you were doing with your hands when standing around and suddenly you couldn''t figure out how to just be normal. I gave up and switched back to first person view so I wouldn''t get in people''s way standing there - it was for the best, it was possible I would need mana if Talia was available to get started right away.


    We met at a little cafe that surprisingly had no students loitering about - everyone looked like staff or visitors, based on the lack of university sashes that the students wore all the time. I hadn''t bothered learning what the colors and decorations meant, but mentally had started thinking of them by Harry Potter house names - presumably they would be deeply insulted if they somehow found out and knew what a ''Hufflepuff'' was.


    "Calliope, dear!" Talia called from a table in the corner, her enormous frame impossible to miss. "I''m dying to know what you want, I have high hopes after that fascinating project with your friend''s hand."


    "Well to be fair," I said as I sat down, "nobody actually asked you to do that."


    She laughed quite a bit harder than that comment had warranted, and then insisted I order some food before we got down to business. I got a dish that sounded to me like a pot pie or a pasty or something, and once the waiter had left I described what I was looking for. She listened and nodded along, then pulled out a pad of paper and began scribbling.


    "Keeping your mind in Ematse despite wards pulling it away would likely require the device to be there, not with you, and taking physical matter to that plane can be difficult. Not to mention damaging, in some cases, due to the ephemeral matter in Ematse being quite far towards the insubstantial end of things. The other part is very straightforward, dear. Below my level of talent, honestly, but I may humor you regardless. Devices that lower the mana requirements for a specific ability are quite common, but as you guessed they do need to be custom made to reach maximum efficiency."


    Telen had had one for his teleportation, and I was certain that was how Aestrid had kept her shields up somewhat the whole time we were traveling. "I can demonstrate the specific divination trick I do. There''s more I''d like it to include, but I haven''t developed my Dumine enough yet and I don''t think I will before I have to be back on the road again so I''m going to have to settle for whatever you''d be able to do now - if you have availability."


    "Making them is trivial if you have the resources I do, it''s more of a chore for the customer actually. You would need to spend some time wearing a device I''ve made and using the skill in question."


    "That''s fine, I don''t have a lot else going on. Uh. One other question, though. Just a hypothetical. If someone had the ability to see enchantments, like curses or something, would you be able to make... I don''t know, glasses maybe, that would let others see the same thing?"


    We were interrupted by our food arriving, and I was happy to find that I had been basically right about what I''d ordered. There were a few foods Earth really had going for it, but overall the meals were a thousand times better in this world. More spices, more flavors, and - I suspected - plants and animals that had been magically engineered to be extra delicious. I did miss the hot kind of spicy though, it seemed like nobody had any tolerance for capsaicin.


    "What you''re describing is possible, of course. In fact, it can be made entirely with runes which means nearly anyone could make that sort of device with the proper education."


    That reminded me that I wanted to learn more about runes, but I was sure that Talia was wrong when it came to what I really wanted - the Paradox of Fate had been clear that there were no runes for fate magic. "What if you didn''t want to use runes? For whatever reason. Maybe you want to see it exactly like someone else does, and that''s hard to do right?"


    She seemed to be considering as she chewed, and then jotted something else down on her notepad. "Well, yes, that can be done. Similar to the device you''ve asked for, I could get the person in question to use their ability and build the same functionality into an item. It would be more difficult; I don''t have any custom tools for that particular type of thing, and so I would need to do it slowly over multiple sessions. It would be far less expensive and take less time to just use runes, however."


    "And once you''d made them, could you make more with just that first device? Or would you still need the person to stand around using their ability?"


    "Ah, that''s the downside to not using runes, my dear. It''s tricky to perfectly copy an existing magical device, and you typically introduce some minor flaws or accidentally increase the mana usage or... some other negative side effect. It can be done, of course, and any experienced artificer has practiced doing it - but it''s not preferred."


    How much would people pay for glasses that let them see fate lines, especially if I was the only source? Then again, money wasn''t really a concern for me since I already had that stipend from the contract with Erathik and some other easy ways to make money in a pinch. Plus I didn''t really want people to know what I could do, though it could be a good thing to do eventually - if for no other reason than it would let Katrin or Errod find me if I was kidnapped again...


    I sloshed some water over my hand as it started shaking again, and I hid it in my lap while I waited for the tremors to pass.


    I spent the rest of the meal listening to Talia complain about the price of lurto azine - some rare alchemical alloy - and describe an encounter with a client who had gotten one of her devices stuck somewhere it absolutely should not have been. Finally we got up to leave but her workshop was, unfortunately, outside of the university grounds and so I had to bid her farewell at the gates. She said there was a room that was used by students she could reserve for the afternoon, so we made plans to meet in front of the library in two hours.


    That left me with plenty of time to bite the bullet and see Professor Yanipliss about fate magic, though I wasn''t sure what his office hours were. Did he teach classes? That''s what professors did, right? But I hadn''t made much of an attempt to learn how the university actually worked, so it was possible the whole thing was totally different than what I knew from... well, not experience. From television, I guess.


    I found the door with YANIPLISS stenciled on it and knocked, and this time Harmid just yelled for me to come in rather than flailing about in excitement and knocking furniture over. Of course, once he saw it was me a little of that panic came back. There was someone else in his office with him, an older but very fit-looking man that gave off ''evil chancellor'' vibes. Something around the eyes, which wasn''t helped by how he seemed to glare at me. He also seemed to clock that Yanipliss was excited or nervous to see me, but just when I thought he was going to say something the glare vanished and he stood with a smile. There was a clinking sound from under the robes the man was wearing, as if he had chainmail under there or something.


    "Well, Harmid, I don''t want to keep you from your next appointment. Thank you again for handing that request from the... dean... while I was on sabbatical."


    Yanipliss looked relieved, probably he hadn''t wanted to introduce me. "Of course! Not quite my area, but I did my best in your absence."


    "Not at all, you did most of the heavy lifting and your numbers look accurate. I''ll polish a few things up and drop it off, you can be the one to submit it. I wouldn''t want to steal the credit, especially because I''m not officially back yet."


    I ducked aside in the somewhat cramped space to let the man by, but he paused as he was passing me. He looked me up and down, and smirked before leaving. What the fuck? As soon as the door closed, I turned to Yanipliss and tried to ask him about it. "Hey, who''s the sinister -"


    "I''ve aged ten years at least, you know." He slumped into his seat, running a hand through his hair and sighing. "The very next day after we met I found some of the hair at my temples had gone white. Do you anticipate being involved in any murder attempts this time? I''m not judging, but I''d like some warning if I''ll need to explain another body to the authorities."


    "I''m magically sworn to not kill anyone this time actually, so I think you''re in the clear. Thank you again for saving Errod, and for not keeping us there."


    I sat down and grabbed a crystalized honey thing from the bowl he''d offered us last time. He took one as well, and we sat there staring at each other and chewing for a moment.


    "So," he said, "did you read the book?"


    "I''ve... skimmed it. I didn''t grow up around magic, I was raised in a small and very sheltered village and the elders said talking about things like magic or other planes attracted monsters. So it was a bit... high level. But I''m working on it."


    "What was the name of this village, if you don''t mind me asking?"


    Best to stick to the same old cover story. "Arizona."


    "Interesting. Well, I''m thrilled to hear you''ve at least attempted it - I suspect that''s more than most of my students ever did. Are you just passing through, or did you... think of something you wanted to share with me?"


    This was the tricky part, but I''d put a little thought into it. "Have you met Moss In Bloom? The Sahrger that they''re doing some sort of testing on?"


    "I have, in passing - though I didn''t know her name."


    "Well, she had taken the place of a little girl named Elba, who we were traveling with last time I was here. Right after leaving we took her back to her parents, which led to finding out about Moss In Bloom and capturing her."


    "And how did you come to meet Elba?"


    "We took a shortcut through Xeyul, and I sort of kidnapped her and some other kids. Or, uh, reverse kidnapped. Rescued, I guess."


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    "Are these the ones with the monk?"


    "The what now?"


    It took a moment to sort out, but it seemed that the other kids had been brought from Twelve Towers where Cyne had deposited them to the university on the request of the professor that was holding on to Moss In Bloom. He was hoping to do some kind of tests on them as well, to learn more about how and why the Sahrger took children.


    "Anyway, the point is that I happen to know from comments that Moss In Bloom and Elba made - and from reading what I have of your book - that the connection between them is made with fate magic. So. I just thought you should know."


    "You''re saying that there''s an ongoing connection?"


    "Yeah, it''s used for scrying. The Sahrger make the human kids watch through their counterparts'' eyes and report back. And I don''t know a lot about when it''s initially cast, or how, but it also transfers knowledge somehow and presumably does the thing that makes them look the same - or helps with it, maybe. And I know that''s not a traditional fate thing, so maybe it''s not literally the same, but it''s the same... medium. Like if two unrelated things were both made out of wood, you know? It makes it invisible and permanent, like the book says."


    He nodded, and looked around while shuffling a few items as if trying to locate a specific book in the scattered piles. "That''s certainly possible," he said, "though it hadn''t occurred to me that it would be a continuous connection. The Sahrger are an odd bunch. Not being human, they can''t use wild magic or formal spellcasting - and yet they''re known to make use of magic to do things that aren''t innate skills. I''m not an expert, but I''ve read enough to know that they must have some way of using other magics. That may, in fact, be what they want human children for."


    "Maybe. Yeah. I uh... I met a human that was taken when she was little and escaped, she didn''t say a lot about it but she''s very skilled in wild magic so... could be."


    "Well, I''ll reach out to Professor Gramod and see if I can force my way in. Is that... do you think that''s all you have to teach me?"


    He knew there was more. I could tell. He''d said as much last time we''d seen him, and he''d still let us go despite the dead guy. I was extremely tempted to tell him the rest - okay no, not the rest, but more than I had. "I''m hoping you can cut that connection between the kids and the Sahrger without killing anyone - which, to my understanding, is how it''s typically done. I may... have a fate-based spell connected to me too, and would appreciate it being removed. But as far as me teaching you? I''ll keep thinking, but... well, what were you hoping for?"


    He sighed. "I don''t know. What I want most is to learn how to reconcile fate magic with High Imperial; there are stories about the Clockmaker tinkering with fate near the end of his reign, but no knowledge of any way to do so with the language he created. They say that runes and the corresponding language of High Imperial are inscribed on the walls of an enormous palace in Quebristun - that''s the thirty-sixth plane, whose alignment defines the Grand Alignment every one thousand, two hundred eighty-three and one-third years. Outside of the Grand Alignment it''s nearly impossible to get to Quebristun. I have a trip planned, actually, but even if I get there legends say it''s impossible to get into the palace."


    "Sure, but we both know that you don''t use that kind of magic anyway. So... why do you care?"


    He looked nervously at the closed door, as if worried someone would hear the roundabout reference to him using wild magic. "It''s an academic pursuit, mainly. I know it''s strange. But also, I do know how to use High Imperial - without a Dumine it''s harder, but I happen to be naturally talented with these things. I''m not trying to brag, it''s just a fact. Mainly, though, it just... bothers me. Not only are the rumors of the Clockmaker''s experiments with fate from reliable sources, but there''s the Fate gift from the Dumineres - assuming that''s what it is, although I see no reason to believe otherwise. Given that, why can''t anyone figure it out in High Imperial?"


    I wasn''t going to get a better opening than that to ask about my situation. "I know the one you''re talking about, but it''s impossible to select - right? I mean, has anyone been able to select four gifts? Ever? I know the answer is supposedly no, but it seems like the sort of thing there would at least be legends about."


    "Oh, absolutely. The Clockmaker himself was said to have more than three, though as the architect of the Dumineres that wouldn''t mean much. The Savior of Brinkmar, as well - in fact some said he was the Clockmaker''s secret heir, though that''s ridiculous for several reasons. The first queen of Markonti, who more likely was using some very powerful artifacts. Some others. It''s plausible - after all, those gifts must be there for a reason - but personally I think that it required some special permission from the Clockmaker, or being part of the right family, or maybe there used to be a way to go back in a second time... it could be anything."


    "So for the people that were rumored to have more than three it wasn''t some specific thing? They just got four or five or whatever the same way other people get one or two?"


    "Off the top of my head, yes. Chosen by the gods, or something like that. Destined for greatness. Regardless, the point is that while that mysterious option quite likely has something to do with fate magic - or something similar to fate magic at a minimum - there''s no way to be sure and certainly no way to find out more about it."


    "I suppose it would be pretty powerful."


    "That would depend on the level of control it offered you, but yes. As I believe we''ve discussed - and as you should know if you even skimmed my book - the main drawback to fate magic is the lack of control over exactly what it does, and how it does it. If you had the ability to be certain it was working towards the correct goal or limit its risk of accidental side effects it would be extremely powerful, enough to be worth larger mana requirements. Though... there might be things more powerful than just precision..."


    Harmid flipped open the book he''d pulled out and gestured excitedly to what appeared to be a bulleted list, but it wasn''t in a language I was familiar with. "If you could bypass the requirements of magic items, think of what you could do! There are powerful artifacts out there that can only be wielded by certain people. Ancestral blades may function with the same magic as fate, but even if not there are other things - gateways to hidden vaults or other planes, Poicelria''s airship - if it still works..."


    "Oh! We were going to go see the oracle, guru, whatever you want to call them. But then... uh... well, some more people attacked us."


    He raised an eyebrow. "The same people that attacked you here?"


    "Ah... no. I don''t know if I''m supposed to say who, but also... fuck it, I don''t actually care. It was the Behemoth, the guy from Halenvar?"


    "Congratulations on being alive. Last time you''d said Lord Protector Hammersmith was looking for you, now you say the Behemoth attacked you - and neither seem to be related to the murder attempt I witnessed. I don''t suppose you know who that was?"


    "Not exactly. He did mention something... I don''t know how much I should tell you. But that''s probably mostly unrelated to the other stuff."


    "How many people want you captured or killed?"


    "Honestly it''s mainly those guys. The kingdom of Erathik wants to talk to me but it''s a misunderstanding. I probably shouldn''t have volunteered that, but it doesn''t matter. They know I''m here. But that''s all... it''s fine."


    "Why would Halenvar send one of its best people to attack you, with the war going so badly? Rumors say General Telen is dead as well, so you would think... what are you involved in?"


    I felt my hand start to twitch again. "I should go."


    "Please don''t?"


    "Nah, I''ve said too much already. Check out that thing with Moss In Bloom, see if it helps you at all. If you learn something, or figure out how to break the bond without killing them, I''ll owe you one."


    "Please."


    "It''s a bad idea."


    "It sounds like you''re no stranger to those. Please. This is my life''s work. I let you leave before, and I''ll let you leave again. I''ll even promise to never write a single thing you tell me down - it''s not about publishing a new book or being famous, I will gladly die in obscurity! But I know that there''s something you''re not telling me. You say you have a fate spell attached to you, you have half the continent out to capture or kill you, you''re from some remote part of the world - that part at least makes sense, given your ambiguous ethnicity - and out of all the people who have knocked on my door you''re the one that set off my device. There is something you know, something I''ve waited so long for. Please."


    I wanted to just leave, but for some reason I opened my mouth instead. "If I tell you, and you tell anyone, they''ll lock me in a room somewhere and never let me out. I can''t do that again, I thought it would be okay but it''s... y''know, it is okay. It''s fine. They regrew my toes and fingernails, and my legs bend the right way again, and everything is just like it was. Like it never happened. I''m just being a big baby about it, I don''t know why my fucking hand won''t stop shaking when I think about it or why I''m... sorry. I didn''t mean to say all that. I should go."


    I stood up, trying to wipe tears off my face but instead having to just press my hand against my cheek because it was still shaking too badly. What the fuck was wrong with me? This was so... stupid. I''d almost died how many times in the last few months? I was always fine. I was fine this time, too. Totally back to normal. This was some fluke, or a fucked up nerve connection from shitty healing, or something.


    Harmid started to stand up, but sat back when I flinched away. "Calliope. Please, forget I asked. I would never want to pressure you, or make... whatever you''ve gone through... worse than it is. If there''s anything I can do for you, anything at all, please let me know - and understand I say this with no expectation of anything from you. Your secrets are yours to keep, and I will never tell another soul anything about you that could even hint - even in some indirect way - that you could have anything remarkable to discover."


    "I don''t... I don''t need your pity. It''s fine. I..."


    "It''s not pity, it''s compassion - there''s an important distinction. Humans thrive through cooperation, through supporting one another. It is, arguably, our greatest strength."


    I laughed, though there wasn''t any mirth in it. "I don''t know, the Sahrger seem to be doing well for themselves and they don''t really do the compassion thing."


    "But look what they''ve done instead," he said, "they''ve built a complicated system of social rules. They''ve replaced instinctive cooperation and empathy with a more transaction-based view, but the function is clearly there to keep things from devolving into chaos. They make binding deals, and repay favors, because they recognize the importance of working together and having a stable foundation for society. In the end it''s very similar - humans have to do the same, for many rules. It''s not like we all agree on how to behave, and we certainly don''t all have more kindness than the Sahrger. If you''d met my uncle... well.


    "The point is, the world as we know it could not exist if we all acted alone. We build things together, through mutual support. And if we''re doing it right, that means we can all falter and be caught by someone with better footing. When people are very young, or very old, or injured, or... it''s everyone, eventually. Maybe a handful of demigods can set themselves apart indefinitely, but from what I''ve read even those eventually regret their isolation. If you would benefit from help, let me help you. It''s what all of human existence is there for. It''s quite literally the point of civilization."


    I hesitated, but maybe I could test the waters. There was something he was uniquely suited for helping me with, after all. "My friend Katrin is super smart, but she''s not... worldly. She lived in this shitty little town until a few months ago, you know? And I''m having trouble looking stuff up in the library, I don''t have the background and so many of the books are super thick and don''t have indexes and shit. So... let me give you a list, a secret list that you''ll promise to research super discreetly and not tell anyone about, and then we''ll get together and... exchange info. How does that sound?"


    He smiled in a way that lit his whole face up. "Gladly! I won''t even write anything down."


    "Okay. Uh. I need to know what Granch is, or are. It''s probably related to mental stuff, or Ematse. I want to know anything you have about Yesrin''s Loom. And then... fuck, you really need to keep this secret, but I want to know anything about, like... a place that isn''t any of the planes. As in, totally separate from all of them. And then I guess if you can get me a book on the history of Brinkmar, that would be nice to have. I could probably find that one myself, but if you know of one that''s easy to read and doesn''t require me to cross-reference it with ten other books it would help. Hell, on that note if you have some suggestions for just basic history and science and magic stuff, books that are broad and aimed at new students rather than focusing in on a detailed history of one specific nail in the wall of a castle that fell down a thousand years ago."


    He nodded, snickering. "I know the type you mean, and I understand your frustration. The professors here are all eager to publish their research but it''s often a bit too specific for anyone but themselves. Granch, Yesrin''s Loom - that one I''ve read about before, though I''ll want to refresh my memory - and a plane that isn''t a plane. Not a problem. And the beginner''s sampler of educational materials will be trivial. I can, hopefully, get all of that together by this time tomorrow. If not, it may mean I have clarifying questions I need to ask to narrow things down - so either way I''d like to meet then."


    I got up and awkwardly shook his hand, then headed out. I was nervous about how much I was revealing to him, but if I couldn''t trust the guy that had saved Errod and helped us get away from the scene of a murder I was never going to get my questions answered. I just hoped those answers would be good ones.