Pale morning sunlight spreads out across the wispy clouds above us and the shimmering sea below, as the island kingdom of Asgoph recedes into the distance. I’m watching it shrink, leaning against the stern rail of The Dove while the wind rustles my hair and cloak, and dries the bit of sweat I worked up loading the cargo hold.

I’d like to think we’ve left yet another place better off than we found it, even if we didn’t intend to. These things just happen. Especially when Arcadia’s involved.

I’ve lost track of her. She was busy saying her farewells to Lyselle, Bram, Detton and Lannie while I was bringing all that food aboard. Our hold is bursting. I don’t think we could have possibly squeezed anything else in there. With luck, it means the last leg of our voyage won’t end on the lean side, as Posca predicted. Even if it does, I suspect it’ll be more comfortable than anyone expected it to be. As comfortable as three weeks at sea can possibly be, anyways.

By the time Arcadia nudges at my shoulder, I’m lost in thought. It startles me at first, but when I look down and see it’s her, I smile and lift my arm so she can snuggle in against me.

She closes her eyes, smiles a guilty smile. “I like it when you sweat.”

I smirk, and put a kiss atop her head. “Good to know.”

Asgoph continues to shrink. Eventually it’s a tiny speck on the horizon, and we’re in a world of blue again. I give Arcadia a light squeeze with my arm, making her squeak and press in against me.

“I have to admit, I’m a little hazy on this…” I pause, try to remember that night around the fire in Kellheim. “House of Life, was it?”

Arcadia glances up at me, and nods. “That’s what they’re called.”

“What are they again?”

She chews her lip thoughtfully for a moment, turning her gaze out to sea. Perhaps she’s trying to phrase this in a way I’ll understand.

“Amorakethian magic doesn’t work the same way as the rest of it,” she says. “The things I do right now, I do by rote memorization. The proper intonations, once learned, can be spoken to create the magic. But in Amoraketh, they didn’t need to memorize anything. They just used their will.”

“You’re making sense so far. I think.”

Arcadia smiles wryly. “You could compare it to speaking a language, versus… Seeing. Language has to be learned, right? There are rules, and slang, and different dialects in different places. But you don’t need to learn how to use your eyes.”

I tilt my head to the side curiously. “So what does that have to do with these Houses of Life?”

“The Houses of Life were used to test people,” says Arcadia. “To find out if you’re worthy of the magic. You could think of it as a place that ‘opens’ you up to certain forces, but before it does, it makes sure you’re able to handle the energies you’ll be playing with.”

“I see,” I say. Now it’s my turn to gaze out over the water, in thought. “So we’re headed for a test. But what kind of test is it?”

“Jhekata’s Compendium isn’t clear on what the tests entail. But I’m not worried about it. We’ve come this far, right?”

She turns that goofy grin of hers on me. I grin back and squeeze her again, and she returns the favor, adding a kiss for good measure. For a while we remain just like that, Arcadia cuddled under my arm as we watch the sea slide by, to the tune of rushing winds, gentle waves, and the rhythmic slap of the sails.

At some point, it occurs to me to ask, “You said you had a friend in Aleria, right?”

Arcadia smiles. “Mhm. The Prince, Tariq. We met when we were little children. My parents came to Aleria to draft a trade deal with their nation, and they brought me along. I think I was seven or eight, he was a couple years older than me.”

Arcadia leans in closer against me, though her eyes are on the horizon.

“When we met, I was rude to him. I was so full of myself, being the Prince of Ecea.”

Her lips pull into a wry smile, and her head tilts to nuzzle against me.

“He told me I wasn’t allowed to go in a forbidden area of their palace, and I made a point to go there,” she snickers a little then says, “I fell in a hole. He could have left me, not to be found for hours or days after I was rude to him. Which I thought he would surely do, but he went and got a rope and helped me out, and didn’t tell anyone about it.”

I smirk. “So you owe him one.”

Arcadia smirks back at me, and nods. “He’s a good person. At least he was when I left, but that was a long time ago.”

“Time changes people. You’ve changed a tiny bit, I think.”

It’s her turn to smirk up at me. She gets up on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek, and I turn at the last moment, so she gets my lips instead.

Hey Readers!

I apologize for the abbreviated chapter today. When we came home from Hurricane Laura evacuation, I thought I was going to be able to jump right back into my routine. That’s not the way it’s played out, though, and I feel like my work is suffering because of it. I’ve been burning both ends of the candle to keep up with my usual schedule of uploading every other day. When I don’t have writer’s block, I’m writing under the effects of stress and sleep deprivation and a rapidly ticking clock.

The next part of Journey to Amoraketh is going to take some proper outlining. I know where we’re going, but the situation is complex. I need some time to make sure I get this right, so I’m letting you know that the next chapter of Amoraketh will drop on Friday, September 25th at 7PM Central time.

But while I’ve got you, there’s something else I wanted to ask you about. Patreon.

This coming week, I’m going to write ahead as far as I can. My goal is to wind up with ten chapters of backlog, with which to make a Patreon subscription a little more attractive. But what other things can I do? Is there anything in particular you like to see when you’re considering subscribing to an author? Art? Setting info? Side stories? Discord? I’m game for whatever, but I’d like to hear from you in the comments.

Seriously, please comment! Even if you don’t usually do so! If you’ve read along this far, I really want to hear from you. And if you’re shy about commenting, send me a DM. I’ll answer them all.

I need to be real with ya. I love doing this, but the only reason I’m able to do it is because the pandemic cost me my job. When things change again, I’m going to have to return to the work force. My goal is to be making enough per month on Patreon to forgo that, when it becomes necessary.

To make a living telling stories. That, my friends, would be a dream come true.

Also, there’s an idea floating around in my brain for a new story. I’ll give you more deets on that when I figure them out, so stay tuned.