Blaze reappeared at the same place he’d left from: a few steps outside the boarding house he’d lived in before accepting the Tutorial invitation. He hadn’t expected it to last six months, and he was grateful he hadn’t tried to keep his room. It would have been long gone, along with anything he’d left in it.

Not that he’d have been able to afford six months’ worth of time before the Tutorial, anyway. In the Tutorial where there were few people over Tier Three, he was the respected leader of the Healer’s Hall. On Grayson, he was only a foreigner; no one really trusted a foreigner’s healing other than those who had no other choice. Blaze had found that this was all too common.

The reward messages appeared and Blaze brushed them to the side; he could deal with them later. For now, he needed to see what it would take to get to Earth.

He’d already gotten both of the things he’d wanted out of the Tutorial: good, fulfilling, useful work and a place to go where he might not be despised or revered simply because he was born to a diehar household. Serenity hadn’t even known what that was, even though he’d recognized the Phoenix bloodline once Blaze mentioned he had it.

Dwelling on the past wasn’t going to change anything, and it wasn’t like Blaze had ever wanted the position his birthright brought. There was a reason he’d chosen Healer as his first Path instead of any of the other options, and there were reasons he’d left home. A place where bloodlines were little more than any other piece of history sounded like a place to start.

Being near an off-planet portal wasn’t one of the reasons Blaze had picked the rooming house; instead, it was one of the reasons the woman who owned the building had let him rent a room. He’d given up on caring normally, but right now it was important.

Sillon also reappeared in the same place he’d vanished from, but for him it was his own kitchen. He looked down and saw a small, painted circle surrounding his feet and laughed at the reminder of the silliness of his wife, who’d reassured him while he was waiting for the Tutorial to start by outlining his feet in paint “so they’d know where not to stand while they waited for him to return”.

There was no one in the kitchen, but it was only moments before Sillon heard the sound of small, running feet. Moments after that, there was a small warm body glued to his leg, shouting “Unka!”

His niece had grown so much while he was gone!

Of course, children did that when they were that little. He was amazed she remembered him.

Moments later, adult footsteps followed the child into the kitchen. “Lak, don’t … Sillon! I’m so glad you’re home!”

Jine enveloped Sillon in a hug. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” Sillon put his arms around his wife’s shoulders. “I’m sorry I was gone so long.”

They stayed like that for long enough for Sillon’s arms to grow tired, but he wasn’t about to let his wife go until she was ready. Eventually, she pulled away a little and he released her.

“You were gone so long. Was it worth it?” Hope warred with concern on Jine’s face.

Sillon nodded. “I got enough to not only pay off the debt but to pay for Raziel’s schooling. At the Academy, even, we won’t have to send him to the priests.”

Jine perked up. “That’s great! Better than we expected! Only…” She looked down at their feet.

No, she was looking at their niece, Lak. Who, come to think of it, shouldn’t have been at his house. Sillon had a sudden sinking sensation in his stomach. “What happened?”

Jibe didn’t look up. “After you left, your sister decided to dive the Pearlescent Depths. You know she always talked about it.”

Sillon nodded, but he wasn’t certain his wife saw. He hoped his sister was alive; the Pearlescent Depths were horribly dangerous. He’d never wanted her to dive, but all he’d been able to manage was to get her to promise to do all of the training before she went, along with a lot of practice. She’d finished the training two years ago, and Sillon had hoped she’d given up on the idea. She never talked about it anymore.

Either way, she continued. “Her very first dive, she came up with a Great Pearl.”

Sillon paled. That was exceptional luck or perhaps skill, but either way it was almost worse than coming back with nothing. “Did she at least try to hide it?”

Jine shook her head. “You know your sister; she went drinking and took it with her.”

Sillon didn’t know how to respond to that bit of idiocy, so he was happy when his wife continued.

“By some miracle it wasn’t stolen, but by the time I heard about it, it was too late. The story that not only had she found a Great Pearl but found it on her first dive was all too well known, and it reached the Palace. The only good to come out of it is that …”

Jine trailed off, but Sillon could easily finish the thought. “She always wanted to be one of the King’s concubines. Or did he let her marry a Prince?”

“The Heir,” Jine stated. “Crown Prince Istarith. They even used the Great Pearl to bless the union. The fact that she already has a child helped; the King wanted someone who could definitely carry a child for his son. She couldn’t take her daughter with her, however. She wants us to move into the Palace, but I’m not sure it’s a good idea to take Lak.”

Sillon pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and plopped into it. He’d never needed to worry about Palace politics before, so naturally that was what his sister had landed in. “It sounds like we have a choice, then. Stay here and try to stay independent, hoping no one comes after Lak. Go to the Palace and hope Emry can protect us, even though she’s never been one to think far ahead without someone pushing her to. Or…”

Sillon wasn’t certain how to state the last option, so he pulled out the teleportation token Serenity had given him. Serenity had called it a Key, but it looked like a token to Sillon. He set it on the table, deliberately allowing the side with Serenity’s sigil to face up. “Or we could take a friend up on an offer. I have no idea what it pays, but I’m confident he wouldn’t abandon us.”

Jine leaned over to look at the token and gasped. “That’s a Planetary Lord sigil with two planets. You made friends with a servant of a Planetary Lord?”

Sillon shook his head. “I’m fairly confident he is the Planetary Lord, though he’d deny it if you asked. It’s a risky offer; I don’t know why there are two planets on the sigil, but he’s from the newly integrated planet. From what the students say, it’s not much like here.”

Jine picked up the token and stared at it for a moment, then flipped it over. “We have time, but we both know that we’re not going to stay here. Not with the chance to leave.”

Sillon nodded. He’d known that from the moment Jine mentioned that his sister was at the Palace. “There’s no need to decide tonight. We have time.”

Honoria also reappeared where she’d left: inside the Library. Only it wasn’t the same Library as when she left; there were soot stains on the walls and the place was deserted. Normally, there would be scholars and students there at all hours, even late into the night. Honoria could tell it wasn’t late into the night, because sunlight streamed through a new hole in the roof.

She could feel the magic of the Library’s protective field preventing anything worse than light from entering, but the fact that there was a hole and the walls were soot-stained told Honoria everything she needed to know. The other Librarians had lost and abandoned the Library to its ancient protections, created when the Library was built some time in the far past using long-lost techniques.

It was one of the famous destinations on Asihanya; even people who weren’t interested in the vast knowledge it held and protected would come to view the grand, ancient building. Honoria couldn’t think of any reason for it to be attacked, which meant things must have gone very wrong.

“I don’t think I’ll be heading away as soon as I thought,” she muttered. “I’d better send a message. I hope Serenity knows how to get them.”

Fortunately, sending a message and starting on dealing with the Library’s damage had the same first step. Honoria hopped over the desk dividing the public areas from the Librarians’ work area and headed into the back, hoping the Library Crystal was well.

Fortunately, it was fine. It didn’t look like it had even been found, which meant no one had looked; it wasn’t exactly well hidden.

[Authenticating]

[Greetings, Librarian Honoria Clearsight]

Kerr’s return left her in the public room at her local Mercenary Guild Hall. Unlike the others, she didn’t dismiss the Voice’s Quest notification to deal with it later. Instead, she collapsed into a comfortable seat and started crying tears of joy when she saw that it did include what she hoped. There was a Skill! Even better, there was a choice of Skills!

She’d be able to buy something that would let her unlock a Tier Four Path!

Kerr pulled up her Path selection once again, just to remind herself of which Paths she currently qualified for; they did change sometimes, and while she’d mapped out several possible options, she wanted to make certain that she was currently eligible for the Tier Four she could reach with the Skill she chose.

At the bottom of the list as if to taunt her, the Tier Four section had an entry. It had never had one before.

Follower of the Essence Dragon

You have chosen to throw your future into the hands of the only known Essence Dragon and follow where he leads. This Path speaks to your past and present but does not constrain your future, as the Essence Dragon abhors that sort of control.

This Path branches.

Kerr started laughing, but her laughter and tears quickly turned to hiccups.

That man! The Dragon it mentioned had to be Serenity. She’d known he was something special from their first fight, but she’d never have expected that the way she’d unlock her Tier Four Path was by accepting his offer to accompany his fiancee on a trip to find him!

A branching Path of the Dragon, at that. Branching Paths were flexible, making it harder to become stuck; Dragons, on the other hand, were simply powerful. So were Paths named after them. Kerr had heard of branching Paths tied to one of the Great Creatures in the past; generally, they led either towards the accompanying concept or towards the Great Creature. Kerr didn’t think she’d choose things to make herself a better follower, but becoming more draconic was definitely something she might choose.

She almost took the Path then and there, but she held herself back. She needed to at least check the available Skills before she took the Path; none of the Paths she’d originally planned for would be better than a draconic Path, especially not since the only obligation was one she’d happily agreed to already, but she still wanted to know what was there even though she wouldn’t choose it until she took the Path. It would be better to get whatever Skill she found as a Tier Four skill instead of a Tier Three skill.

She’d have to pick out at least two she wanted in case one of them was on her new Path. Somehow, she doubted that would be a problem.