10. Arcady: Elemental

Arcady enters a rigid university routine as the Citadel prepares for Chancellor Yrsa’s funeral. Despite weeks on campus, Arcady still gets lost, feels educational gaps in Kalsh and history, and endures bruising dawn combat drills. The abundance of food fuels long days, but exhaustion and self-doubt persist.

In Kalsh class with Professor Plink, Arcady targets a second-year trio—Rahela Easel, Damon Aldburn, and Willem Ansel—to build connections. When Arcady focuses on the water, an unexpected image of a healthy Everen stares back, shocking Arcady, who masks it as fatigue. On the second attempt, Arcady successfully shapes water, using humor to break the group’s reserve and edging closer to their circle, while noting Sorin’s cool distance.

History with Professor Fullin proves soporific, though Arcady fixates on the Schism and the Last Monarch, Laen, and wonders what the professor might know about Barrow Eremia. Arcady’s drive sharpens around questions of why Barrow was vilified and why no defense exists in official accounts.

Arcady makes the University Library a second home, combing through records on the Strikes—outbreak origins, spread, and slow Council response—only to find Barrow’s writings removed. The purge deepens Arcady’s suspicion that history has been curated against Barrow.

To outrun grief and fear of failure, Arcady studies from dawn to late night, tying a wrist to the bedpost to prevent sleep-wandering, and drifts into dreams of Everen. Determined to excel and uncover the truth, Arcady channels loneliness and guilt into relentless research and practice.