“It’s a shame,” Viola said. “Floriane is very well-known! Her tinctures and potions have done a lot of good. I considered apprenticing to an Apothecary Master—I’ve always been good at traps—but Dad would never have dreamed of it.”
“Why not?” Barclay asked.
“Oh, the Dumonts have all been Guardians. It’s the family trade, and it’s what I wanted in the end, anyway.” She gave him a sly smile. “But an Apothecary Master might bea good fit for you! I’m sure there’s lots of crossover with mushroom farming—”
“Stop doing that,” he snapped. “Stop trying to make me a Lore Keeper.”
“Oh, you’re not fooling me. I’ve seen you slipping out at night to spend time with Root.”
Barclay glowered. Viola was as sneaky as she was smart.
“We’re only training. I need to win, in case you’ve forgotten. I’m not going to beat Tadg by getting enough sleep.”
“Or could it be that you don’t hate RootorSycomore as much as you thought you would?”
Barclay crossed his arms and pretended to listen to Athna’s presentation about fossilized remnants of forgotten Beasts.
“So you’re going to brood and ignore me now?” Viola asked.
He didn’t answer.
“At least talk to me aboutsomething, so I don’t have to pay attention to everyone still staring at me.”
Barclay struggled not to smile, preferring—as Viola had accused—to continue brooding. “It must be so exhausting having people give you things and be so polite all the time, Your Highness.”
She elbowed him in the side. “They’re not being polite. They think I ran away.”
“Well, did you?” he asked. Viola didn’t strike him as the sort to abandon her teacher.
She sighed and stood up. “I think it’s better that I not go to Runa’s lecture. But Abel and Ethel should be back by then.” She handed him her copy ofA Traveler’s Log. “Just… just read the page that I bookmarked. I think it might help you.”
Before Barclay could protest, she left, and his bitter mood soured further. He didnotlike Root. He didnotlike Sycomore.
Thankfully, Ethel and Abel did return for Runa’s presentation—Abel with a strange green ointment on his face, but otherwise well. Tadg was gone, which suited Barclay fine—he didn’t want to see Tadg and Abel stir up another fight. Then he remembered that Soren, also a Guardian, was giving his lecture at the same time as Runa. So Tadg had left to spend time with his future Master. Well, they deserved each other.
Runa held her presentation in the Guild House, and even though it was the town’s largest building, students were crammed inside, filling the tables, standing along the sides, and seated on the beer-sticky floor.
While Abel described the gory details of what had happened to him in outrageous exaggerations (“The sapexplodedall over my face! I wascovered. Hot likelava.”), Barclay openedA Traveler’s Logto the page Viola had marked.
It’s a common misconception to believe that a bond between Keeper and Beast is only ever initiated by theKeeper. It’s true of Familiar class Beasts and almost always of Prime class. These Beasts don’t have the power to forge a Mark. But on rare and remarkable occasions, I have heard of or witnessed Mythic class Beasts casting the bond themselves.
Why? Well, that is the question! But I believe the Beast recognizes something in their would-be Keeper. They see someone else of their kind. Of their Lore. Of the wilds.
A hush fell over the room as Runa entered, and Barclay tore himself away from his book. As always, Runa’s long blond hair was tightly braided, and she walked like a soldier, menacing, nimble, ready to strike. Even Barclay, who had little in common with the other students, was eager to hear what she had to say.
“Many of you already know who I am,” she began, taking a seat on her usual leather armchair by the fireplace. “My name is Runa Rasgar, though some refer to me as the Fang of Dusk. As many of you also know, it’s the power of the Legendary Beasts that keeps the other Beasts within their Wilderland. But that power is imperfect, and it often slips. I consider it my job to protect the world from the most vicious of Beasts, because not all Beasts are useful or cute or friendly. Some Beasts are dangerous. Some Beasts aren’t meant to be tamed.”
At her first pause, someone took advantage of her silence and shouted out, “Could you tell us more about Dooling? What was it like to be champion for six—”
“After my apprenticeship ended, I spent some time as a Dooler, so that I could meet Keepers and Beasts from all over the world. I won champion six years in a row.”
Beside Barclay, Abel let out a huff. “There’s a lot of people full of themselves around here, don’t you think?”
“I thought Runa was your top choice,” Barclay hissed.
He and Ethel both shrugged. Barclay wanted to ask more about their change of heart when another student spoke up.
“But if you could tell us more about—”
