Morgan, Issa, and Tiladia settled down in the library, sitting in one of the comfortable arrangements of leather chairs and couches. Issa and Morgan sat on a sofa, and Tiladia hovered in the air nearby. Watching her misty, crystal shard form gliding and spinning, it occurred to Morgan that the spirit was never still. She never seemed at rest. “Tiladia,” he said, on an impulse, “What if we could make a different body or vessel for you? One that allowed you to interact physically with things and people.”

“Do you think such a thing is possible?” Tiladia asked, her form shifting to that of the misty dragon she seemed to prefer. It hovered in the air, long, smoky neck arched so her crystal eyes could stare at Morgan.

“Were you listening at all when that Vormendion bust told us about the inheritance?”

“No, I’m sorry. I found his voice and demeanor brought up repulsive memories.” The misty dragon coughed a cloud of vapor in emphasis of her words.

“Part of the inheritance seems to be the ability to craft ‘vessels’ for spirits. I think we might be able to do something like that for you.”

“I would love to be able to interact with things more, Morgan!” the dragon spirit said, voice rising in excitement.

“Alright, well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I think it’s something to explore, but I don’t want you to get your hopes up too much—I’m not sure I fully understand the inheritance, okay? I’ll look into soon, though, I promise.” Morgan sat back, stretching his long legs, so his feet rested on a nearby ottoman.

“I’ll try not to allow my emotions to run wild, Morgan, but you’ve stirred up a lot of thoughts that I’d held locked in a tiny corner of my mind!” Tiladia said, looping in the air, flapping her little misty wings so that she surged through the motion with an eruption of tinkling crystal.

“I think it’s good to hope, Tiladia, and I think you have reason to! I heard the description of the inheritance, and I think what Morgan suggested will be possible,” Issa said, smiling as she curled her legs under her, leaning comfortably into the corner of the sofa.

“All right, let’s focus on one thing at a time, okay? Right now, I want to decide what class to choose for my level forty refinement. Let me describe them to you both, and then you can tell me your opinions. Sound good?” He paused, and Issa nodded.

“Thank you for including me, Morgan!” Tiladia said.

“I should have been including you in a lot of decisions, Tiladia. I don’t think I really appreciated how significant it was having an actual dragon, an Elder being, living in my home. I’m sorry if I haven’t given you the respect you deserve.” Morgan leaned forward, trying to look earnest, trying to look into the dragon’s crystalline eyes, and once again wishing she had a more solid form, if only so that he could see her expressions better.

“Thank you,” Tiladia said, surging forward to flow around Morgan’s shoulders and neck and then back out in front of the sofa. Her mist was cool but left no residue where it touched him.

“Well,” Morgan said, turning to include Issa, “I only have two choices. Three, if you consider, I could keep my current class. Both of my options say that they’re ‘legendary.’ I’m assuming that’s the progression after ‘epic?’”

“I’ve never heard of a legendary class . . .” Issa said, her words trailing away as Tiladia spoke.

“Vormendion had a legendary class when he visited Aradnue. He worked for centuries afterward to gain the next rarity, going through several more refinements before he succeeded. That’s when he created his ‘inheritance’ and left this plane.”

“What was the next rarity?” Morgan asked.

“While he pursued it, Vormendion used terms like ‘divine’ or ‘mythical,’ but he didn’t see fit to tell me what the System called it when he succeeded. By that time, he spent very little time in this tower, and when he did make an appearance, it was usually to retrieve an artifact or, later, to prepare his guardians.”

“I see,” Morgan said. “I guess that’s not important right now. Well, let me describe the classes for you,” he paused, looking at Issa, whose eyes had grown distant. “Something wrong, Issa?”

“No. I’m just thinking about how small my world was before you came. Well, before I went into the Crucible, I guess. I thought an ‘advanced’ class was impressive when I was growing up. I was so proud when I got my Battle Witch class. I used to think traveling up the Rill Catcher to Gelica was a great journey and an impressive goal, but here I am talking to beings from other worlds, one of whom is my mate! I guess I’m just a little overwhelmed but also very excited about what’s in store for us. For our family,” she rested a hand on her stomach and smiled, clearly trying to reassure Morgan that she was okay.

Morgan reached out a hand, resting it atop hers, and smiled, staring at her for a few heartbeats. He felt like he could stare into the bright, golden-yellow irises all day, but Tiladia, shifting in the corner of his eye, brought him back down to solid ground, and he cleared his throat.

“All right, well, one choice I have seems to be a progression of my current class. I’m a Void Adept right now, and the new refinement is called a Void Master. I don’t think it was automatic that I received this refinement, though. In the description, it mentions that I’ve ‘developed new and powerful ways of piercing the void.’ I think the scrying and Void Gate spells that Olivia helped me learn opened up this class.”

“What attributes does it focus on?” Issa asked.

“Intelligence and then simply ‘unbound.’ So, I’ll have some freedom in that regard.”

“What is your other choice, Morgan?” Tiladia asked.

“It’s called Anemoi Cloud Warden. It sounds interesting, and I’m sure I’m being offered it because of my bloodline—the description says I’ll learn skills and spells that complement the ‘secrets of my bloodline.’ The class attributes are intelligence, agility, and dexterity.” He glanced from Issa to Tiladia and said, “Any thoughts?”

“I like the idea of a ‘warden’ type class for you, Morgan,” Issa said. “I think it fits your personality. I think the other class sounds more powerful, though.”

“If you’re being offered the Cloud Warden class because of your bloodline, Morgan, you can be fairly confident that this option will not go away. You’ll see it at each refinement going forward. It might change to suit your skillset or to reflect a further connection to your bloodline, but some form of it will persist,” Tiladia said, swirling closer to him and saying in an airy whisper, “I’d go with the ‘Master’ class. You’re bound to learn some powerful skills and spells.”

“Why do you think the Void Master class sounds more powerful, Issa?” Morgan asked, trying to cover his surprise at Tiladia’s strange behavior.

“Your void Energy is powerful, Morgan, more so than any affinity I’ve ever seen. This class is promising you mastery of greater uses for it. You’ll also have unbound attribute points at every level. The Cloud Warden sounds interesting, but it seems like it’s trying to push you into a box. I feel like the other class will teach you how to break boxes.”

“Your mate is perceptive, and I agree with her,” Tiladia said, swooping again around Morgan, trailing her cool mist around his neck. Was she being friendly? Affectionate? Morgan found himself trying to imagine the dragon spirit’s motives and emotions and shook his head—he really hoped he’d be able to help her into a form that suited her better, one with a face that could express itself and vocal cords rather than tinkling crystals.

“So you’re both in agreement? This was easier than I thought it would be. I thought, with two legendary offers, I’d be stuck, deliberating for days.” He looked from Issa to Tiladia again, giving them each a chance to voice any sort of doubt or change of mind, but they both returned his gaze. Issa nodded, smiling, and Tiladia simply didn’t say anything. “All right, then,” he said, pulling up his status sheet and selecting the refinement page.

“Well, you didn’t tell us what you thought,” Issa said.

“I was leaning toward Void Master, just because I love the idea of teleporting, and Void Wave is the most devastating spell in my arsenal. It’s a known quantity, whereas the Anemoi Cloud Warden is a complete mystery.” He shrugged, then selected the Void Master option on his screen and sat back, eyes losing focus as System messages scrolled into his vision.

***Congratulations! You’ve refined your class: Void Master. Class spell gained: Void Missile - Basic, Class spell gained: Void Step - Advanced.***

***Congratulations! World-first Void Master! Feat awarded.***

***World-first Void Master: Feat granted: Void Drifter - While in a natural void, a vacuum devoid of matter, you will passively cultivate void-attuned Energy.***

***Void Missile - Basic: Conjure forth an orb of pure void Energy and hurl it at enormous velocity, undoing your target’s material connections to the physical plane. Energy cost: 200. Cooldown: Minimal.***

***Void Step - Advanced: You are able to instantly travel between two points in space, provided you can see your destination. Energy cost: 1000. Cooldown: Minimal.***

“Wow,” Morgan said. “It seems like this class is gearing me up to travel in space?” At Issa’s puzzled expression, Morgan described the feats he’d gained for his world-first achievements, both for Void Adept and this new class.

“Is space a void?” Issa asked, her eyes going distant once again.

“It’s a kind of void,” Morgan said.

“It is indeed,” Tiladia said. “When I flew between worlds, not even sound could reach me in the great black.”

“Yeah, but, I mean, you can see things in space. Light travels through it. My Void Wave seems to destroy everything, even light.”

“Your void-attuned Energy is the pure form of the concept, Morgan. Voids in nature might not be so pure, but that doesn’t mean they won’t work with your abilities,” Tiladia said, speaking matter-of-factly.

“I should have spoken with you a lot more in the past, Tiladia. Thank you for your guidance and help.” Morgan felt Issa’s fingers snake between his, and when he looked at her, he saw her smiling at him, almost like she was proud. “What?” he asked.

“Nothing. I’m just happy that I’m with such a considerate man.”

“I’m happy too, Morgan. You begin to grasp the edges of true power. Certainly, in this world, but even in some of the older worlds, you’d be regarded as having great potential. I’m happy that you remain humble and kind. I couldn’t imagine anyone else I’d prefer as the master of this tower.” Tiladia’s tinkling voice rose and fell, and Morgan knew she was trying to add emotion to her words.

“Morgan, I think you should use part of Vormendion’s inheritance. The spell and skill, at least. I think you should do it for two reasons,” Issa said, squeezing his fingers.

“What two reasons?”

“One, so that you can help Tiladia into a better body, one with a voice and a face and limbs that can interact with the world.”

“I would love that!” Tiladia said, surging forward to curl around Issa in what Morgan was starting to realize was her only means of touching someone—brushing her cool mist over their skin.

“The other reason, Morgan, is that I don’t trust anyone else not to do evil things with those spells. Vormendion made slaves. Someone else might do so, too, no matter how well you know them. People change with power. You’ve proven that you can handle power and still be a good man.” Again, Issa squeezed his hand, and Morgan found himself struggling to figure out how to respond.

His thoughts spun at her words and Tiladia’s earlier. Was he a “good man?” He tried to do what was right and think about how other people would feel when he spoke or did something, but he wasn’t anything special. His success on Fanwath revolved around a lot of luck. He’d been lucky to be the one awake when the ship entered the solar system. He’d been lucky to find Issa in the Crucible. He’d been lucky to have a strong Core and a high Energy affinity. He sighed heavily and decided it was stupid to dwell on it. Why not just be glad that he’d been so fortunate?

Morgan kissed Issa’s fingers and looked into her eyes, saying, “I might do ‘good’ things and maybe even be ‘good,’ but it’s because I’ve had good people around me and a lot of lucky breaks. Without you, I’d have died in the Crucible, and my story would have ended pretty abruptly, despite some of my lucky breaks. Most of the ‘good’ things I’ve done were because of you, Issa. If I were to trust anyone with those inheritance items, it would be you.” He paused then, staring at her eyes, feeling an impulse he didn’t want to second guess.

Before he could doubt himself, Morgan said, “I love you so much. I don’t know how things are done with the Ardeni, but will you marry me?”

Issa’s smile was brilliant, her lips pulling back from her teeth, exposing her sharp canines, and making her eyes twinkle. “Yes, Morgan! Of course, I will, but I’m fairly sure that your custom says you’re supposed to give me a ring. Isn’t that right?”

“Oh, God! Who have you been talking to? Of course, I’m supposed to have a ring, but . . .” his words trailed off as Issa launched herself into his lap and smothered him with kisses. Tiladia had erupted into a cascade of tinkling crystals, swooping around the sofa like a miniature hurricane. Morgan simply laughed, returning Issa’s kisses and savoring the joy in his heart.