28. Arcady: The Golden Tree

Arcady spends several days consumed by classes, practice, and nocturnal meetings with Everen in the in-between, still tethering his wrist to prevent sleepwalking. He combs the library for information on the crystal tree and Professor Hayden, and selects Monarch Laen for a history essay, uncovering a rare note praising Barrow Eremia’s revolutionary magic from Consort Genat Lant, who vanished after the Schism.

In alchemy—Arcady’s hardest yet favorite course—Professor Hayden emphasizes persistence, quoting, “If it weren’t impossible, how might it be done?” The identical phrasing Barrow once used convinces Arcady that Hayden and Barrow truly worked together. Despite conflicted feelings, Arcady focuses as the class begins a complex experiment with seaweed, lead, vinegar, and bleach.

Working with Sorin, Arcady follows the steps: burning seaweed to ash, dissolving and filtering, then combining solutions. With adjustments, their mixtures clarify and turn the right colors. As they wait, Arcady asks about a rumor that Sorin once took a Vow of Silence. Sorin cautiously confirms years-long silence with limited exceptions for Trade and spellcasting, hinting at the loneliness it brought and implying she ended it upon deciding the gods neither required nor benefited from it.

When iodine meets the lead solution, it becomes a brilliant yellow suspension that clears as golden flecks fall, mesmerizing Arcady and Sorin. Under Hayden’s guidance, the flecks coalesce into a tree-like crystal form, which Hayden frames as nature seeking balance under magical fire. The display evokes Arcady’s fascination with the rumored crystal tree and stirs his bond with Everen.

Arcady’s unguarded thought—“Everything is connected”—slips across the Veil, and Everen answers, affirming their tenuous link. The moment crystallizes Arcady’s suspicions: Hayden’s maxim ties them to Barrow’s work, the alchemical “golden tree” mirrors the mystery Arcady hunts, and Sorin’s admission reveals deeper fractures and resilience among his few allies.