"No more things should be presumed to exist than are absolutely necessary, ie, the fewer assumptions an explanation of a phenomenon depends on, the better the explanation."

William of Occam

Operation Silversea had been a huge success we now had the branches of the Silversea clan to support our endeavours. It was not a large change in how Grandpa Smit had always run his family, but it had made the private unwritten rules public. It had also changed the head of the family in name if not yet in nature. The seven sons and two daughters were now pulling in the same direction under the supervision of . . . well technically Aleera. However, she had not made any big decisions yet.

The branches of the Silversea clan seemed happy with the new skills and progress that their children were making with Lady Acacia. They had also offered lessons in return, to help the new Lady Silversea familiarise herself with the resources that she had to call upon. Aleera and I enjoyed being shown around our cousin's homes and places of work. All elements of life in Wester that I had missed growing up on the island in isolation.

We visited our uncles in the order of their birth. First Aaron and his forge, Farhoni, Fabrian and Fabrianna were happy to show us around. They even let me play with a mini hammer and cold forge. Next, we visited Barric who showed us his field his six children showed us the best spots for picking fruits and we whispered that next time they visited for a lesson with Lady Acacia we would have to show them our secret spots. Despite having Wanda working for us and helping out in the cauldron garden our secret garden remained secret somehow. Maybe she received more for her fruits in town when people thought they came from far away or were few and far between.

Next, we visited Uncle Karl, who showed us the ropes of his work. From felling a tree to preparing planks out of it. All impressively down without sawmill or modern machinery simply skills and strength of stats. Our cousins Joyner and Sayer both had parts to play in the process and we were kept company by Tessi while we watched from the side.

We had seen Auntie Dushnah’s home before but we had never visited her tanning room before. Although having visited it I now realised that we had smelt it before. It seemed a little macabre to my modern sensibilities but it was on reflection just a part of life here and nothing to get too squeamish about.

After Auntie Dushnah it was time to see Hunter, we caught nothing but enjoyed a walk through the wooded areas of the island. He pointed out a plethora of plants, animals and their tracks before heading further round the lake to the less civilised side of our island while Chase and Diane escorted us home. It was only as we returned did they find something in one of their traps they had reset on our morning walk north. We had a rabbit that evening for dinner.

Uncle Romeo showed us his clay pit where he mined the clay to mould tiles and bricks baking them in the sun. Our cousins showed their progress with pots. It seemed that their mother had been and still was the one who was able to make the more elegant pottery while their father stuck with the basics when he was not making tiles or bricks. I tried not to delve into the uncomfortable history.

Uncle Cephas showed us the town’s quarry which much like the majority of the island was owned by our family in one way or another. It was a surface quarry but cut into the side of the rising ridge line rather than delving deep into the Lodestone.

Auntie Sharina showed us her home and glasswork shed. It may have seemed small but she was able to create beautiful pieces. I looked forward to the day I might be big enough to have a go with her tools. I may still be small but I had big plans.

All in all, it was a fun fortnight working our way around the family and being able to interact with our cousins without the weight of adult expectations or timetabled activities. The Silversea family had a strong foundation in this town. As much as the lack of modernisation might seem strange to me, their products were quickly and precisely made. Their experience and skills allowed them to achieve results rapidly and without fail.

The only person who seemed disgruntled with the new status quo was Lady Acaia herself. Although it took her a while to come clean about that fact.

“You are not being honest with me.” Lady Acacia interrupted the evening meal with her statement.

“We all keep secrets,” Arawn answered shrugging in response. It still seemed strange to think of him as anything other than Grandfather, but Arawn Silversword was certainly a perfect example of someone who kept more than one layer of secrets. Like an onion, shrivelled and smelly, you peeled back one layer of secrets to find another. I was sure he was still harbouring many more. I just was not planning on being a hypocrite in demanding them all from him.

“Is there something, in particular, you are referring to?” Mother asked. It was a good question. Our house was not a house built on a web of lies but there were certainly a few secrets holding it up. Our pearl production, the initial hidden salt production, our yet-to-be-revealed production of purple, our hidden caldera garden, me. The list was not endless but there was more than one item on it. I wondered what in particular she was getting at.

“Do you two have another child?” she quietly demanded. The whispered question meant little when everyone at the table could hear it. However, she had hesitated to raise the issue.

“No,” answered Mother perplexed.

She tilted her head, before stating, “You had another child.” Somehow aware that there was more to the answer than a simple negative.

“Yes, but he died at birth. Caelus he would have been called.” Father stepped in to answer what was a distressing topic for the two of them.

“And you are sure of that?” She asked.

“Yes, I buried him myself.” He answered bewildered.

“Just to confirm neither of you two has any other children with anyone else outside of your marriage.” She repeated pedantically.

“Just what exactly are you asking?” Father blustered angrily.

“Simply whether you have any other illegitimate children.” She answered blithely.

“No!” Replied Mother and Father angrily. “Aleera and Kai are our only children.” They defended vociferously.

She paused bemused for a moment and murmured, "The simplest theory is usually the correct one," Before beginning again, “In that case, if the issue does not lie with you two then it must lie with Aleera.” She frowned at Mother answering the question rather than demanding a response from her. One she nevertheless received.

“Me?” Aleera asked at the same time as Mother demanded, “What about Aleera?

“You never mentioned in our initial talks that she was cursed.” She delivered leaving us in stunned confusion. Although it is possible she took our expressions to mean merely stunned as she continued into the silence we had left. “It is an unusual and insidious curse to be sure, but I cannot complete my job if I do not understand the hurdles we need to surmount. I fully understand your desire not to mention it in front of your burgeoning clan however I cannot do my job if you are not completely honest with me.”

We sat there in silence at the dinner table not quite sure how to respond.

“I fully understand the plots and machinations that noble families use to stay on top of the pile in Ponente. Honestly, to curse a young scion is not a surprising development. It sticks to the letter of the law that Aleera will live to her 20th year and attend her debutante ball.”

We were left wondering what she was talking about.

“I am assuming that you have received a ransom or demand for the cure. I can’t quite work out how you managed to be cursed so far from the court without me noticing it though. Have you received any gifts that I am unaware of?”

We all turned to Aleera in confusion. The only one capable of explaining.

“I’m not cursed.” Aleera defended. We all had a sigh of relief. Although that was quickly interrupted by Lady Acacia once more.

“It is perfectly okay Aleera to accept help when you require it. Your family is here to support you and I am here to teach you. There is no shame in being susceptible to a Leech Curse. We will simply have to work to remove it.”

“A leech curse? What is a leech curse?” Father asked.

At the same time, Aleera continued to defend herself. “I’m not cursed. Wouldn’t that appear on my status?”

“A curse much like an oath is a way in which to manipulate another’s stats although unlike the consequences of oaths being positive the outcome for curses is entirely negative for both the individual who casts it and the one who receives it. The main reason I believed it is more likely is that you would have an illegitimate sibling rather than a curse. And yes it would appear on your stats.”

“There is no curse on my status.” Aleera kept on repeating herself.

“Look if you do not have another sibling and are not cursed then how do you account for your missing stats.”

“What missing stats?” We all asked confused. Although I had a sneaking suspicion I knew where this was going.

“By my eye, you should have gained approximately 30 points in vitality, 30 points in strength, 70 points in endurance, 40 points in dexterity, 10 in senses and 10 in mind. This means that even with a measly 30 points of endurance you should have received your first perk and you haven’t. If I had to guess I would judge you to have received just half of what I have stated. Either you have an older brother who has through your clan’s oaths gained half of the stats or you are cursed to only receive half of what you should have. Either way, I cannot help you move progress if you are not honest about your status.” She ended exasperated.

“I have always been completely honest with you Lady Acacia. I am Level: 12,” she started before being interrupted.

“That’s not necessary Aleera.” Grandfather intervened frowning.

“Yes, it is. I’m not lying!” She answered before listing the rest of her stats for the entire table to hear.

“Level 12:

Title: Lady

Name: Aleera Silversea

Age: 10 years

Vitality: 75

Endurance: 95

Strength: 75

Dexterity: 80

Senses: 65

Mind: 65

Magic: 60

Clarity: 60

Charisma: 60

Free Points: 78

As I listened to her stats I realised a couple of things. 1st I had higher stats than my sister in everything bar strength. 2nd she had worked on balancing herself at around 60 judging by the free points she must have spent and her mental attributes. 3rd she was very close to getting the perk for endurance.

“Thank you Aleera for your honesty but that just proves my point. Unless you only had 25 points in Endurance which I highly doubt based on your ability to keep up with my training then you are missing some of the points you should have. Someone here is not being honest.” She looked around the table at my Grandfather, Father and Mother. It seemed she was no longer doubting my sister.

“I understand that fidelity can sometimes be an issue within any marriage but as I said earlier I cannot tutor Aleera to the best of my ability if I am bound by broken truths.” She pushed her chair under and left the room.

Having listened to all of the above the issue was obvious, even if my family didn’t realise it yet, it was me.