33. Arcady: The Spirit Moon

At Willem’s family lodge, Arcady, Sorin, Edin, Willem, and Professor Hayden abandon formality for music, wine, and brandy. Hayden plays skillfully and privately relaxes formality with Arcady. Their conversation hints at Hayden’s past collaborator and current, supposedly unremarkable, research as she departs for the night.

After Hayden leaves, talk turns to the Trials. Willem, drunk and insecure, laments living in his brilliant parents’ shadow and nearly dying in Trial Two. Arcady bluntly challenges Willem’s self-pity, which breaks the tension; the group helps a teary, inebriated Willem upstairs, with longtime servant Arine reassuring them he’ll be fine.

Later, Arcady notices light under Hayden’s lab door, then waits until the house quiets. He sneaks in, finding medical–alchemy texts and a locked cabinet with a hidden compartment. Inside are drafts in Arcady’s grandsire’s hand and Hayden’s annotations: years of failed experiments and a recent “successful” result with side effects, strongly implying Elixir-like work. Arcady magically copies the pages and restores the originals, unsettled by what Hayden may be testing.

Back in his room, Arcady dreams with Everen. They weigh the evidence: if Arcady’s grandsire solved something the Citadel stole, Hayden may be reconstructing it. They consider whether the Elixir could heal the Struck or democratize magic—and what calamities may have followed. With the Night of Locked Tombs imminent, Arcady admits fear, while Everen feels calm and vows to return if called.

The chapter closes with Arcady echoing his grandsire’s maxim—“But if it weren’t, how might it be done?”—as he and Everen brace for choices about re-bonding and the dangerous knowledge now in Arcady’s hands.