Outwardly, the next day passed like every other day on the family’s holding.  Everyone worked from dawn till dusk trying to wring enough food from the stony soil to keep themselves alive. 

 

Inwardly, Ket found it less onerous than usual.  He was surprised what a difference it made to have something to think about besides his own misery.  As he hoed and weeded, he thought about Allina and all the things she’d told him.  As he chopped wood, he thought about Houses and how he might become someone of importance in one of them.

 

At suppertime, Ket gulped down his bowl of thin gruel, fetched water and banked the fire.  He was the first up the ladder to the sleeping loft and rolled himself in his blanket by the outer wall almost before the others had thought about going to bed.

 

Ket closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on the glowing image that had guided him to the Dream last night.  Instead, he found himself back in the clearing, staring into the fire.

 

“So,” said the low, harsh voice of his mentor, “You made a good start last dream.  Met a girl, learned a bit.  Saw the House you’re going to join.”

 

Ket nodded slowly, “I’m not sure about the Shadow House,” he said, “They’re all keen on studying stuff about the Dream.  I think I’d like a house of fighters better.”

 

The shadowy form snorted, “The Shadow is our house. A bunch of scholars is perfect.  They’ll be so busy studying esoterica, they won’t even notice what you’re doing.”

 

“Just what am I going to be doing?” Ket asked.

 

“Taking them over.”

 

Ket’s jaw dropped.

 

The other laughed his growling laugh again and said, “Not right away, of course.  But you can make a start.  Make friends with that Guardian you met last night.  Erelon is as unworldly a scholar as they come, but he’s influential in the House.  They’ll likely look at him for Ruler soon, and his friends can profit from that.”

 

Ket nodded, scarcely able to contain his impatience to return to the Dream and see Allina again.

 

As he stared into the fire, trying to see the Threshold beacon again, Ket thought he heard that low growling laugh and another sound, almost like the smacking of lips.

 

Ket’s second Dream was enjoyable as the first.  He met Allina again in Threshold and they talked for awhile.  Erelon, the Shadow Guardian, found them in his house’s Threshold room and took them out to teach them to hunt.

 

Ket enjoyed the hunting and found he didn’t have to say a great deal to keep up his end of the conversation.  Erelon talked enthusiastically about his house and his studies and with Allina’s contributions, Ket was able to nod sagely and remark on how interesting it all was.  By the end of the hunting expedition, both Allina and Ket had pledged to join the Shadow with Erelon as their sponsor.

 

“He’s so nice!” Allina exclaimed, as she and Ket made their way back to Threshold, “And he knows so much!”

 

A little flame of jealousy sparked in Ket’s mind and he said casually, “It’s very nice of someone so important to take time for us.  But I guess he gets credit from his House for getting new people to join.”

 

“Oh,” Allina replied, a bit downcast, “Do you think that’s all it is?”

 

“No, I’m sure he’s a nice guy who wanted to help,” Ket told her, “Besides, who wouldn’t want to spend time with someone as pretty as you?”

 

Allina blushed and giggled and Ket smiled down at her and took her hand.

 

That set a pattern for Ket’s days and nights.  He got through the days by dreaming about Allina and the Dream.  He found that as long as he kept up with his work, no one in his family noticed that he rarely spoke or took any interest in their doings.  Each night, he would go up to the loft as early as he could and slip off to Dream. 

 

Most nights, he met his shadowy mentor just as he was falling asleep.  They always met in the dark clearing with no light but that of the small fire, so Ket was never able to see more than the cloaked figure and the occasional flash of eyes.  Ket gave up asking who the other was; the only answer he ever got was that growling laugh.  But whoever, or whatever the mentor was, Ket learned a great deal about the politics of the Dream from him, or it.

 

Ket and Allina joined the Keepers House Guild.  As their mentor, Erelon encouraged them to come to him with questions, and on his mentor’s urgings, Ket spent a good deal of time with the Guardian.  He discovered that many dreamers loved to talk about themselves and their interests and that he rarely had to do more than murmur encouragement or ask an occasional question to keep them talking happily.  Ket also found, somewhat to his surprise, that those whom he listened to this way tended to like him and regard him as a friend.  Erelon’s enthusiasm for his studies meant that Ket mostly just nodded and smiled once the Guardian was well launched on his favorite topics.

 

He had also discovered in himself a talent for concocting stories.  He didn’t talk about his shardic life much, but when he did virtually everything he said was made up out of his own daydreams.  In the tales he told, he was the only child of doting, wealthy parents.  He had almost no experience dealing with women because his father wanted him to make a good marriage and none of the local girls had a big enough dowry.  He was also able to excuse any roughness in his manners by claiming that’s the way things were done on his shard.

 

Coached by his mentor, Ket quickly learned to manipulate others.  Allina still regarded Erelon rather wistfully, but Ket had confided in the Guardian that he had little experience with women on his shard and had asked for advice on winning her.  Ket was pretty sure this would keep his honorable friend from responding to Allina’s tentative approaches. 

 

Allina herself heard the tale of his father’s ambitions and his own lack of experience, and was rather charmed by Ket’s forthright admission that he liked her a lot but didn’t really know much about courting.  She told him about the elaborate courtship rituals on her shard and they both enjoyed playing the game in their Dreams.

 

 

One night, Ket found himself in the clearing facing his shadowy mentor. 

 

The other said, “It’s time to start gaining some power.  You’ve done well establishing yourself in your house.  Now you can move up.”

 

“But how?” Ket asked, “I’m just an initiate, and still pretty new.”

 

“But your friend Erelon is not,” the other reminded him, “Your first step is to see Erelon made a Ruler.  You know Tenebral, the senior Ruler?”

 

Ket nodded, “Yes, although I don’t know him very well.  He spends a lot of time working for his Focus Society.”

 

“He’s been spending a lot of time working for a certain pretty new initiate recently,” the other told him, “He’s been granting Melida most of his rewards on the house mission board lately, and training her in new arts and plateaus for suspiciously quick tasks.”

 

Ket gaped at him, “How do you know that?”

 

“We have ways,” the other laughed quietly,  “But you’ll have to keep an eye on them and try to catch them out so you can report it.  Don’t try to go to the leadership about this yourself, take it to Erelon and let him take it higher.”

 

Ket nodded thoughtfully.  He had noticed that the rather aloof Ruler had been around the House more of late and, now it was pointed out to him, he realized that it was usually when Melida was dreaming.

 

“So Erelon turns in Tenebral and gets to take his place?”

 

The other nodded his cloaked head, “Yes, if you both approach it properly.  Sad to have to say anything against such a respected figure, but doing your duty to the house.”

 

Ket nodded his comprehension and set his mind on the Dream.  His quarry weren’t dreaming, so he took himself off to hunt and collect items.  Some while later, he Located both Tenebral and Melida at the House and returned home.

 

He dropped his essences and items and Located his subjects in the Missions Room.  Ket strode up the stairs and into the Initiate Missions.

 

As he passed through the portal he heard Melida say, “…much too much, my lord.”

 

Tenebral turned toward Ket with a frown and Ket hastily bowed and said, “Excuse me, sir, Melida, I just wanted to report on the Board.”  He entered the Board without giving them a chance to reply.  As he wrote up his reports on the essences and items he’d brought in, Ket smiled to himself.  Primed by his mentor, he was pretty sure that Melida’s “much too much” was a reward on this very board.  Not yet enough to damn them, but suggestive, he thought.

 

When he was done, he emerged from the Board and Located again.  Tenebral was no longer dreaming, but Melida was still in the House.  Ket set off to have a little chat with her.

 

He emerged into the house’s Main Entrance and found her standing by herself, a dreamy expression on her pretty face.  Ket bowed and said, “Good dreams, Meli.  I’m sorry I interrupted awhile ago, didn’t realize you and Tenebral were there.”

 

Melida blushed slightly and replied, “It’s ok, we were just…talking.  He’s been so kind to me.”

 

Ket smiled down at her, privately thinking there wasn’t much in that pretty head besides air; not like his Allina.  However, he said, “And who wouldn’t be kind to someone as pretty as you!”

 

Melida blushed even more and giggled a bit.

 

“How are you getting along?” Ket asked, “I know you’re fairly new and sometimes it can be hard to get a good start.”

 

Melida smiled happily, “I’m doing just great!  I’m still not very good at hunting, but I haven’t really had to be.  I’m up to orbit 25 with what I’ve gained on the MB.  That’s a wonderful thing for us to have!”

 

Ket continued to smile at her while his mind was busy with calculations.  He knew she’d only joined the House a few dreams ago and had been very new and inexperienced then.  To be orbit 25 already meant she’d been getting a substantial amount of Tenebral’s daily rewards.  He said, “Congratulations, that’s pretty quick advancement.”

 

Melida smiled brightly and replied, “Thank you, I could never have done it on my own.  Lord Tenebral’s been so nice.  He wants me to join the Dreamseer Society too.  And I must say, I like the Insight Arts I have now and the kinds of things you can get later on as a Dreamseer.  Lord Tenebral’s taught me so much.”

 

Ket smiled benignly at her and said, “I should go hunt some more, I’m not pretty enough to get all my advancement from the Mission Board.”

 

“Good Luck, Ketzan,” Melida said, laughing at his minor joke.

 

He waved to her and ran off down the plane.  Once through the portal, he slowed to think about his next move.  He had to approach Erelon about it, but he thought it would be best to do so obliquely.  Locating, he discovered that his friend was in their Threshold and quickened his pace.

 

Ket popped through the portal and discovered Erelon and Allina chatting with a new dreamer.  He bowed and smiled and went to lean on the wall near Allina and listen to their talk.

 

The newly awakened dreamer left shortly and Ket remarked, “It’s nice to see a bit more of Tenebral around the House.  He seemed a bit distant when we first joined.”

 

Allina chuckled softly, “I think he’s unbending a bit because he’s smitten with our pretty new member.”

 

“Eh?” asked Erelon.

 

Ket grinned at his unworldly friend and nodded to Allina, “I think you’re right.  I just saw him and Melida together.  She is a pretty little thing.  Not very bright though, I wonder what she’s doing in our house of scholars.”

 

“Tenebral says she’s very interested in his planar geomorphological studies,” Erelon told them.

 

Ket laughed, “I bet she can’t even pronounce it!  I think she’s just interested in Tenebral.”

 

“She seems very nice,” Allina said, “and she’s adjusting well to the Dream.  She told me the other day she was orbit 15 already.”

 

Ket raised an eyebrow, “I’d say she’s adjusting extremely well for someone who admits she’s not a very good hunter.  She just told me she’s orbit 25 now.”

 

“She must be doing a lot of genning and getting rewards for it on the Mission Board,” Allina said.

 

“I guess,” Ket said, “Although there didn’t seem to be much in the Vault just now.  I dropped off a couple of alterors and a good shield, and we’re quite low on shields.”

 

Erelon nodded slowly, “You’re right, Ketzan, there hasn’t been a great deal in the Vault lately.  I wonder….”

 

“Well if she’s not genning and not hunting, how is she growing so quickly?”  Allina asked curiously.

 

Erelon frowned, “I don’t know for sure and I don’t like what I’m thinking,” he admitted, “Perhaps we should go gen and help fill up that empty vault.”

 

As the trio ran off to find some good gens, Ket laughed to himself.  He’d barely had to raise the topic, and certainly hadn’t had to make any accusations.  He was pretty sure that once Erelon’s suspicions were aroused, his concern for the house’s honor and reputation would keep him from forgetting the issue until he was reasonably sure what was going on.

 

Some while later Allina said, “I have to go to a Historians Guild meeting.  I can take your talismans back to the House on my way, if you like.”

 

After Allina had gone, Ket said, “You’ve been awfully quiet since we came up here.”

 

Erelon said slowly, “I’ve been doing some thinking and I don’t much like what I’m coming up with.  As Allina said, how does someone who doesn’t hunt and apparently doesn’t gen either manage to gain 10 orbits in a couple of days?”

 

Ket said, “Perhaps she’s doing other things that are worthy of rewards?”

 

“Do you think she’s contributing to the House’s studies?” Erelon asked.

 

“No,” Ket replied, “I’ve talked to her once or twice and she seems a nice girl, but not very bright,”  he hesitated then added, “She did say lord Tenebral had been very generous.  Perhaps he’s been helping someone who’s a bit helpless on her own.”

 

There was a pause, then Erelon said, “Mission Board rewards are supposed to be for services to the House.  It was Tenebral himself who taught us that when Carissa and I were knighted.  If Tenebral…. No, I don’t believe what I’m thinking.”

 

There was silence for awhile as Ket pondered how to convince his friend without seeming keen to do so.

 

Erelon broke the silence.  He asked, “What did Melida say to you?”

 

“She’s not a very good hunter, but it doesn’t matter because she’s orbit 25 with what she’s had from the MB.  She said Tenebral has been very kind and generous.  He wants her to become a Dreamseer too and has taught her some of their arts already,”  Ket repeated their conversation, “You don’t think there’s something wrong, do you?”

 

Erelon hesitated then said, “Don’t say anything to anyone else, please.  I’m not sure what’s going on, but it sounds rather like Tenebral’s been just giving out his MB rewards because he likes her.”

 

“That’s not really fair!”  Ket said.

 

“No, it’s not fair to the rest of the House who are working for their rewards.  And it’s not right according to our oaths,” Erelon said grimly.

 

Ket paused a moment then said, making his voice sound tentative, “I overheard something earlier in the MB Room.  I’d just dropped off some items and was going to report and Tenebral and Melida were in there.  As I came in she said something was “much too much.”  I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but now I wonder what she meant.”

 

“I wonder too, and I don’t like the answer I’m getting,” Erelon said, “I’m afraid I need to go make some inquiries.”

 

“Of course,” Ket said, “Go do what you need to do.  It’s nearly time for me to waken anyway.”