Published at 17th of October 2026 9:55 am

Chapter THREE HUNDRED ELEVEN: What Grows Unseen

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

311

******

then

******

Theyre never going to stop.

The whisper was the only sound in the tiny room where Ryada stood, one hand splayed against the face of a monitoring cabinet and the other cupped against her ear. The room was dim, and flickers of gray writhed above the plate shed slid out of the cabinet. She didnt look away from them as the door behind her opened, but when anothers self brushed against her, she shoved the plate hastily back into its slot.

You didnt wake up Seth for her turn? Tilliver stood in the doorway. Youre too good to us. Were you even going to wake me?

Im just restless.

Take something for it. Weve been pushing ourselves harder, so we should all rest when we can.

She smiled at him as she slid off a heavy bracelet and tucked it into its own slot in the cabinet.

What were you looking at just now? Tilliver asked.

Ryada turned away.

Sit down and let me redo your braids, she said, pulling down a seat that had been folded against the monitoring rooms wall. You look like you were plucked at by angry panpiis on your way here from your bed.

Youre not someone who can talk about other peoples hair. He flicked at one of the purple curls spiraling near her temple before taking the seat. So what were you looking at? Did you sense something we should worry about? Any messages?

Nothing like that. She tugged the ties out of his long hair. She tapped a light on the wall, and it glowed like it was full of embers. The pale strands in her hands shone. I wascurious about how things are progressing behind us.

The nests we cleared today? Everything is well?

Her knuckles rested for a long moment against the back of his neck.

Ryada?

Everything is as expected, she said lightly, her hands moving again. And we are making more progress now.

If we keep this up, we might even request an additional squad to keep up with the work behind us, Tilliver said in a satisfied voice. You were right about spreading your skill wider. It works, were moving twice as fast, and were still leaving everything clean enough for the restorers to finish up without trouble. Of course the mission takes as long as it takes, but it feels so much better to be striding forward instead of slogging. Postor and Emban are in a much better mood today. Were going to be one of those squads that others are envious of. I dont mind that.

Imeveryone being happy makes working out here less of a trial, doesnt it?

I know Ive been finding it easier. He held himself close to her for a while, then withdrew. What are we going to do about Emban leaning too much your way too soon?

Were supposed to have these conversations all together.

I know, but since shes the only one with such a singular preference this early in our time together, and that singular preference is our most widely compatible memberit will lead to resentment. It already is somewhat. I dont want that. I want us all to find someone and remain friends.

I want that too.

I think when you feel drawn to one of us more than the othersif you doyou should say so. Even if its early. If not, it cant be helped. Dont put pressure on yourself. But if you did happen to know already

I dont, said Ryada. Being as comfortable with the closeness of others as I am has its own drawbacks.

Im sorry for bringing it up then. Im not sure what the right thing to do is, so maybe I should have kept my words to myself.

Youre fine, Till.

Im a bit useless to the rest of you actually. The sculptures are so pitiful. Of course its based on complex magic, and I knew the efficacy would be unimpressive at first. But Id be more useful out here with my wizardry. That bothers me more than I expected.

None of us would win the prize for strongest new knight if they gave one out.

I know. And given the type of squad this is, I wouldnt even be with you if I were much more powerful. That would be a loss. Ill just have to content myself with watching you kill everything for now. When they ask me what the most impressive thing I did on Goldbush was, I will point to you and say, I assisted Hntyon Ryada-bess.

I pictured Life to Water being different.

In what way? Tilliver asked.

I dont know. Youre right. I should have let Seth take her turn in here.

Its cramped and corrupt. Not the best place for clear thoughts.

No.

She finished his hair in silence then patted him playfully on top of the head. All done.

Thank you, Ryada. What were you saying when I came in here? I didnt quite hear you. Something never stops?

Oh, I dont even remember, she said. Too sleepy. See you when I wake.

Bithes in charge of first meal. It should be good.

After shed left, Tilliver sat for a while, checking over everything in the room. Then he reached for the plate shed shut away and the bracelet shed been wearing.

The flickers of gray light appeared.

Just the area we did today, he said. She worries too much. Her skill will finish those off soon.

He put on the bracelet and cupped his hand to one ear.

Nothing out of the ordinary. Just the sounds of things that once lived here dying.

******

now

******

In the past, Victor had gifted Alden with some mice, a rat, roaches, and a disturbing clump of furall deceased, which was a quality he hadnt appreciated enough. Before she completely disappeared to attend to her own assignment, the griveck killed several of the problems he would have encountered without her help. He saw the evidence in wrecked mimics and splashes of vibrant red.

But shed also bullied a few of the fake demons, riling them up so that theyd be better sport for an Avowed on his first adventure in the Rapport III training fields.

Alden assumed her thoughts were along those lines. He squatted on a hill, looking down into a valley where demon goats roamed. Using his lenses, hed been able to spot five. He could hear them screeching. They were charging threateningly at anything that moved. Mostly, that meant running at each other, and then stopping suddenly before they collided.

Maybe theyre friendly to other members of their species, and being demons is only halfway screwing up their ability to recognize their own kind.

They were hazard mimics, but he was seeing chaos-afflicted mountain goat creatures. Hed been studying them for a while. They werent as big as bokabvs, but they likely outweighed him. They seemed to be able to detect movement from a significant distance away despite the darkness. And the speed they moved at looked wrong on them.

They had forward-pointing horns that were perfect for spearing Alden in the chest, and each one hed been able to check had a slash on its back right hip that had to be the grivecks version of a signature.

Could be her way of weakening them for the human cub to practice on. But it seems more like she was infuriating them for me. Alien nurture sure is different sometimes.

Sorry, Ms. Griveck, but Im not going to approach this with the type of battle plan you mustve imagined.

The whole goat valley was stained redder than any area hed run through since landing. The fastest route to Bithe was right through the center of it.

Going around would take time, getting killed by a goat would be stupid, and wasting his skill or his supplies would make him useless when he reached the others.

The grivecks assumption that the squad was in a rough spot seemed true. They werent answering any of Aldens attempts to make contact, and the lenses were telling him his comm dots were still working fine. They also werent moving toward him like they were supposed to be. At least, Bthe wasnt.

It had taken Alden a while to be sure. His sense of his entrusters distance wasnt well trained enough. Not for faraway locations. If he and Bithe were both in the gym at Celena North, Alden would be able to picture exactly what spot in the room the Artonan occupied with little effort. Out here, he could say with absolute certainty that Bithe was across the valley, but was it that next hill? Two more?

Hed thought he would have found them by now, though, considering how much ground hed covered. They were either stuck somewhere or backtracking.

The hills were higher here. Running straight down this one was going to be a little dicey even with his wordchains. There were no doubt things he couldnt see in addition to the goats. Traveling through this much red would likely result in some damage.

Dozens of ways to make mistakes all piled together. Nobody to tell me whats best. Consequences for others if I get it wrong.

Not my first time.

He extended his left hand and made the kelsithe into a shape that resembled a snow shovel. Instead of preserving it, he tried to hold it in that position purely with mental focus.

Okay.

He thrust it toward the ground. The kelsithe entered the dirt easily, but it took more than one attempt to make it behave exactly like he wanted. It was a minute before he managed to make the shovel head expand to an even larger size, deeper and wider into the ground, and then encapsulate a hunk of soil and grass. He preserved it that way and stood with something like one of the gyms hundred kilo bags on a handle.

Familiar.

He waved his arm through the air a few times, getting a feel for the weapon physically and with his skill.

Yeah. Familiar.

He couldnt twirl this and flick it like his Winsterminator, but at least one of the goats was less intelligent than Winston. Hed seen it fly into a fit of rage against a bush that had done nothing wrong, and now it was ramming hooves and horns into the splintered remains.

Thats the one whose territory I trespass through. Maybe itll come at me. Maybe it wont. No more time to waste.

Get to Bithe.

******

then

******

One morning, the squad found a dying golden fenyan near their campsite. Emban spotted it struggling in the red mud and went to end its suffering with a spell.

Not even a demon, she said as she let her auriad wrap around her bow again. It looks like it barely got caught at the edge of your range Ryada.

What do you mean? Ryada broke off from the others and hurried toward her. Not a demon?

You didnt have to run through all this mud, too, said Emban. But look. It doesnt feel like a demon. The way its injuredit seems like it was almost far enough away to resist, but not quite. Its unfortunate. I wonder why it was so close to ourRyada?

Ryada had dropped to her knees in the mud beside the animal. Its fur was almost completely gone. Its tail was only an oozing stump. Theyre supposed to live in trees!

Are you both all right? Seth called, heading toward them.

Theyre supposed to live in trees, Emban! There arent any trees near here.

Well, itsthings like this are going to happen sometimes with the way were clearing the patch. You know its not your fault. Emban looked to the others for help.

Its not at all, Postor said at once. Im the one who suggested you finish your skill off for the night right before we made camp. The fenyan must have been struck by it then.

Im the one who said we could put off range testing last week, said Seth. Weve all grown more powerful.

We could take the morning and do that now, said Tilliver. And I should have mentioned last night that were close to the edge of our patch. Close enough to hit things we shouldnt with some of our magic.

If Id checked the area more carefully yesterday, maybe I could have spotted the fenyan, Emban suggested. She motioned at Bithe.

Iit looks like an elderly fenyan that was nearing the end of its natural lifespan. Im sure it has many offspring that will thrive in this patch weve been healing.

There was a pause before Ryada looked away from the corpse toward Bithe. Are you pretending to be able to tell the age of a random Goldbush animal to make me feel better?

May it nourish the land that feeds its young, said Bithe. Im sorry. Everyone else had already said the more obvious things.

I thought Life to Water would be nourishing like that.

It is, Emban said. You are.

Corrupted life becomes water that brings life, said Bithe.

I know, said Ryada. Thats how its supposed to be.

She stood. Her authority greeting rang outcheerful and familiar to all of them. Its all right. Im being absurd today for some reason. Youre right that these things happen. Its been a long trip, hasnt it? A little more, and we can all go home.

Nothing unsettles you for long, does it? Emban said admiringly.

Ryadas the one who keeps the rest of us sane out here, Seth agreed. Were all learning. Well learn from this too. No more golden fenyansof any age.

******

now

******

Everything breaks down so suddenly, said Noh-en, watching the news about the destroyed flyer scroll across the display in the staging area. And Im sure thats only a fraction of whats going wrong for their squad.

She wished she could be in two places at once. Up in the observation station, theyd know so much more than she did here.

Suddenly is a word to be wary of, someone said.

Noh looked around to see Veln-arth smiling at her.

Youre in a place like this! she said.

Im not so retired from the field that I cant peek in, am I? the Primarys spouse asked. And how good it is to see little Noh here! A votary yourself. It seems like only a season ago that I found you and Stu sitting under that library table talking about what it would be like to be where you are now.

He stood beside her. In chaos, some disasters truly come upon us suddenly. What should be becomes what shouldnt without any error to blame. That makes it too easy to think that nothing could have been done to stop an accident from happening. Use the word unexpectedly first whenever something goes wrong, to remind yourself that there might have been signs you missed.

Embans flyer went down unexpectedly? Noh said.

Veln nodded. And when you say it like that, what follows are questions about what should have been expected. And by whom? Is what happens to the knights you serve unforeseeable, or was it unforeseen? So much of what we regret is the second. Many things grow where our eyes never point.

******

******

You can see how it came about. Their flyer misses an update, they dont have access to the latest news, and their squad composition was ambitious to begin with.

I wouldnt call bringing a human adolescent they happened to meet somehow ambitious.

Hes got the tools he would have needed to not be too much of a bother to them during the quest they thought they were going on. They must have hoped to use him to get their objective all the way to the worldkeeper on their own. That outcome would have looked reasonably likely to them before they set out. It was an attempt to achieve a little more than they were expected to. Ambitious, I say. Inexperienced, but ambitious.

But now theyre on the ground in a situation they dont understand.

So they are. They chose to travel along that ridge because they were hoping to avoid the dangers they were aware of. Lighter chaos up there. They didnt know Forduan was going to be releasing some in that direction because they didnt know everyone else is moving to make things difficult for the ewtwees. Nobody knew about the lazy camouflaged ones that have been lounging around up there since ths round started.

Who did the last flyover of that region?

The reports on the ewtwees are still lacking in detail.

Those newlings are going to need something relaxing to drink when they review this later.

They need a mentor to ask them what they were thinking about the Avowed. What was going through their minds before they left, and when the poor Ryeh-bt was falling without them, and after he reached the ground and they told him not to move?

Ay! No! There goes our Tillivers main weapon. Im surprised it lasted through so many uses.

Im sure theyre all wishing they had brought more supplies. Or at least kept the wegyta rings for themselves. They might keep the human boy safe if he cant resist wandering through that valley, but then what?

The voices in the conference room had mostly washed over Ryada. She was busy watching the main map with one eye through a gap between heads while she kept the other on the closer views of her squadmates and Alden that shed requested for herself. Her friends were struggling at the top of a ridge that was disastrously located. She was trying to see everything they were doing at once, but that comment about Alden pulled half her attention back to the conversations around her.

The knight whod said it was one of the more prominent participants in the analysis. She expected someone to respond to him with an update. When nobody did, she glanced around and found Jozz next to her. Embans cousin must have found an opportunity to sneak away from Makee-en.

None of them are looking where were looking, I guess, she said quietly to him.

Hmm? Do you have any thoughts on Embans performance?

Shes doing better now that theyre in trouble, said Ryada. Shes at her best in a long fight. But I meant what was just said about Alden. They havent been watching him ever since he stopped above the valley.

Oh?

Ryada realized from his tone that shed assumed too much. But hes your brothers closest friend

I have heard that more loudly than I liked, Jozz said. Ill check on him?

She frowned. Watch what you want to watch. Im going out onto one of the decks. Its gotten crowded in here.

******

When she returned to the spot on the observation deck that shed left behind earlier, the same older knight was still there.

You missed my company, he said.

It was dark now. Someone had brought him a basket full of sausage bread.

Ryada took a piece when he offered. My squads having an awful time out there. Its one of the more interesting situations at the moment, so its drawn a lot of people.

Commentary from those who dont know your friends as well as you do can be unpleasant, he said. Even if all involved are wise and well-meaning.

Its not thattheres an Avowed who got separated from the squad. I feel like I know him well even though I only met him recently, so Ive been watching him, too. But I just realized I might be the only one paying any real attention to him. Theyre talking like they havent even glanced at him in a while. I guess the valley ahead of him looked like an obvious place for him to stop moving, or fail. And theres so much to see during these events. Butonly me?

Should they be watching that Avowed as much as they watch our brothers and sisters? he asked.

She looked at the bread. Isnt it strange to assume that a person staring down at a valley full of demons isnt going to do anything worth notice?

******

a little while ago

******

A chain for speed and one for gracefulness.

A few foundation points.

A body that was taller and stronger. Night vision through enchanted lenses that cost more money than hed ever imagined having last year. Specialized shoes that let him feel the ground without hurting his feet.

All of that practice with Bobby and superheroes and all by himself and with Stuart.

The kelsithe, light despite its current bulk, was barely awkward. He swept it through the air as he ran. He heard the air rush around it. Once, he felt something he hadnt seen strike his skill. Far more impact than anything the size of an insect should have had.

He imagined hed killed a fake demon, one no larger than a Thegundese grasshopper, and he didnt slow down.

Flat out. Downhill.

Ground element everywhere his feet could go. His trait sent him over it, the feeling turning almost lightweight on some steps.

Nothing on Anesidora was ever like the ground on Thegund. The way he could run across it and look back to see that hed been running on something that was barely there. Pits and trenches in his wake as it collapsed.

This wasnt like that either, but it was closer. He hit a stony place, and gravel tumbled away from his feet and rolled.

Should he have fallen there?

He was already gone.

The more he ran, the more he remembered what he wanted to remember. How, when you made your final choice, there was nothing left but action.

Once the lab was gone, you ran or you died. You ran until you died.

For Kibby. For his entruster.

The mindset wasnt quite that one, but it was closer to it than he could get normally.

Bithe became more and more like a weight in front of him. A sun he was turned toward. Pulling him forward as the slope gentled, almost leveling out.

He skimmed nearer to the stupid demon than any of the others.

It didnt come at him.

It didnt come.

Hed passed it.

Good. He wanted to save as much power as he could to help Bithe.

He heard a screech from a different goat. To his left. Up ahead. Well over a hundred yards away. Hed thought that one wouldnt notice him from so far. It had. It was charging at him.

All right.

Brutes and spells and weapons have come at me faster.

He let the demon slam once into his preserved kelsithe, because that was what hed decided hed do before he started running.

Its heavy. Dammit. Bithe needs me at full strength.

One of the goats horns snapped. The animal rolled. Not quite like Winston or the bokabv in his dreams or anything else.

Close enough.

Alden brought the kelsithe down like a hammer. He heard his own breathing. No battlecries down here. Hed decided that before he started running, too.

He ended preservation inches from the struggling demon, and the misty weapon returned to his arm almost simultaneously. The dirt wasnt perfectly contained like it was in a sandbag, but it was at least a couple hundred pounds of ground moving as fast as he could make it move.

It slammed into the goat.

His lenses informed him that his dust blockers were filtering out particulates.

He wasnt sure the demon was dead. He could still sense magic from the hazard mimic. Was that leg sticking out from under the soil twitching in its death throes, or was it planning to get back up?

Alden paused for the first time. A few precious seconds were sacrificed to thought.

Shovel.

His kelsithe flowed forth obediently.

Share