Despite the rather ominous patron Dragon-souled, the temple itself was fairly mundane. That might have been because anything that could've given it character had been stripped away.

There was little more than bare stone left behind. If not for the statue and its plaque, it would've been impossible to guess who the temple was dedicated to.

"You ever wonder why so many Dragon-souled have statues with their preferences listed?" I asked as we settled inside.

"Hmm. I've read dozens of theories. Most postulate the abundance of worship relates to whatever resource is required to grow once you reach such a rarefied level of power. Others think it's a requirement to even reach Dragon-souled," Arizar said as she laid out a blanket. "There is enough evidence of Dragon-souled who eschew such habits that I personally believe it has less to do with the Dragon-souled themselves, and more to do with human nature."

"So, you think folk worship them just cause they're powerful? I could see that," I said, stepping back after receiving a gentle shooing motion from Arizar.

"Dragon-souled are hardly the only thing people are likely to elevate, though they're one of the few that seem to come with tangible benefits," Arizar said, stomping on the corner of her blanket.

My response was forestalled when the recently unrolled blanket made a solid 'thwump' sound, unfolding along the long edge. It continued unfolding several times, until it took up most of the main lobby of the temple. Once it had filled all available space, a set of poles longer than the original blanket lifted into the air, dragging canvas with them.

Less than thirty seconds after she'd laid the initial strip of cloth down, a large pavilion had risen to replace the temple's interior, red cloth decorated with golden thread.

"That's… have you been sleeping in that every night? And didn't you take that out of your spatial storage? How stable is the enchantment? How does it handle the interference from resonating Worlds enchantments?" The questions rolled off my lips on their own as I kneeled down, our previous topic of conversation forgotten.

A gentle laugh filled the room as Arizar waved me closer to the tent and the runes woven into that golden thread. "As they were both crafted by my own hand, I was able to ensure their resonances matched. Not that I would do such often. It was an incredibly tedious affair. For something so vital as a home away from home, I believe the effort was worth it, though I doubt I could convince myself to do so again."

"Wait, so you made them both yourself? The ring and your tent?" I asked, running my hand along the golden thread. Not all of it was runework. In fact, most of it wasn't. Most was there to - well, not simply to disguise it, because it was a beautiful design - but that's what it did, and it did it well.

"Father believes I should be able to provide any such luxuries myself," Arizar replied, a touch of pride in her voice as Bevel came in from her exploration of the courtyard. "Though he did provide me with the resources. It took me almost four years of dedicated practice before I was able to complete the pavilion."

"It's impressive. Very impressive. And that's ignoring that you did the work yourself," I said following her inside. Thankfully, it wasn't bigger on the inside. That would've been a bit much. Not out of the question for a fourth order spell or enchantment but Arizar was only Pegasus.

Bevel charged between us a second later, "You made this?"

"Well, I enchanted it. The actual assembly is the product of a local smithy and seamstress," Arizar said, gesturing towards an unobtrusive maker's mark on the poles. There didn't seem to be any similar marking on the tent fabric, but it might've just been lost amongst the swirls of golden thread, much like the enchantments.

Wonder if we could get her to tutor us on spatial enchantment. I'd thought she wouldn't know how, since she hadn't understood how to repair the Waygates, but… I hadn't considered the significance of her having both Recall and Ever Expanding Imperium of the Mind. Respectively, a Worlds and a Celestial spell.

"Could you teach us how to make one?" Bevel asked, unknowingly echoing my own thoughts.

"I believe that could be arranged. Though first, we must ensure you can join us inside your Papa's Memory Palace. After all, it would be a waste to practice with real materials when we can simply use the ones created by his Palace," Arizar said with a shallow bob of her head, setting her golden locks swaying.

"Yes!" Bevel exclaimed, rushing over to give her a tackle-hug, which forced Arizar to take a step back to maintain her balance.

I chuckled softly, as Arizar returned the hug, petting her head.

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"Magic might just be the key to your heart, Bevel," I said, shaking my head.

"Nu uh," Bevel eloquently denied while releasing Arizar. "Thanks Ari."

"It is no trouble, my dear," Arizar replied. "Now, what do you say we start work on your Palace. It will take diligence if we hope to get it working while you are still within the Astral tier."

"About that… with how much our trip is helping me grow, maybe we should just wait? Cause if this keeps up, I'm gonna be Pegasus just like you by the time we get home!"

"And won't that be a delight," Arizar said, ruffling Bevel's hair. "But the work will benefit you either way. The nature of your magic will give your Palace unique traits, and mapping those out now will let you incorporate them in whichever version we end up building."

"Okay," Bevel said making grabby motion in my direction.

I pulled out her design notes, shaking my head. "So needy."

"Thank you, Papa," Bevel said, eyes locked on the pages for a second before glancing around the room. Then she frowned. "You should put up some nets, Ari. There's nothing for me to hang on in here."

"Why don't you start on your spell and I'll see what I can arrange," Arizar said, ruffling Bevel's hair once more and pushing to her feet.

"Are you so good with all kids?" I asked quietly as Arizar retrieved a loop of what looked like golden silk rope from her pack.

Arizar paused, her brow crinkling slightly as she looked first at me before sliding over to Bevel. "Hardly. If anything, Bevel is the first child I've felt any affection for. Generally speaking, I find them rather exhausting. If you had asked me prior, I would have said… well, nothing kind, that is for certain."

"Never would've guessed it," I said, shaking my head.

"I suppose it is partly that I feel some degree of understanding. She lost her mother at a young age, as did I," Arizar said, continuing to loop the silk rope over her arm. After she had over a dozen loops, she hefted it upward, then held it towards me.

"Yeah, guess that's kind of a theme amongst the three of us. Losing our moms early," I said, accepting the many loops of rope.

Arizar nodded as she continued pulling even more loops forth, looping it around her arm once more. "Ah, I believe I vaguely remember Father mentioning your mother had passed. I'm afraid I don't recall the details. I was somewhat upset with his attempts to coerce me into a union with you at the time."

"Yeah… well, whatever he told you would've only been half the truth anyway. There's a lot of history I doubt he's figured out," I said as we moved to the corner of the tent.

"Is that due to your nature as a reborn soul?" Arizar asked distractedly while holding a length of the golden rope up to the side of the tent. "Can you hold this please?"

With the loop on one arm, I took the rope from her with my other, holding it in place. "How'd you know? About me being reborn, I mean?"

"It leaves specific scarring on the soul. And after the recent issues Father was having with some of the criminal element in Spellford… well, you were assessed the second you set foot on the dock," Arizar replied, holding up a needle and thread then casting a spell I didn't recognize. Whatever it was, it caused the needle to dart back and forth, sewing the rope in place.

"First, what spell was that?" I asked, getting a soft laugh from Arizar as she held open her grimoire to a spell called In and Out Again, A Tailor's Tool. I raised an eyebrow, glancing at her.

She gave me a small shrug in response, holding up the next length of golden rope.

"Right. Second, I didn't know your father had us scanned. Is that normal?"

"For some," Arizar said, nodding as she secured the next section to the tent.

"Guess I can't fault your father for being cautious with someone he planned to meet and had only a basic understanding of."

"If only he were always so cautious," Arizar said with a put upon sigh while waving me over to along to the next spot on the wall. "Here."

I held up the next section of rope while she cast her spell yet again. "So, why'd I get the special treatment if he's not always like that?"

"Because you mattered," Arizar said, giving the taught rope a gentle tug before nodding.

"You know, I know you put in stiffening enchantments, but there's still something weird about the fact the tent can support all this so well."

Arizar smiled, her green eyes sparking with mischief as she looked at me. "Those who grow up in Spellford have a different sense of what is normal, or so I've been told."

"Yeah, can see how that might be the case," I said, turning away with a cough. "Same thing for those on the Aranor estate. Things like your tent were common there, though with a greater reliance on the Nature element."

"Oh? Perhaps you can tell us about it after we finish working on Bevel's spell for the evening," Arizar said politely as we moved to the next section of the tent, though there was more than a hint of interest.

While she'd suggested I tell her later, that hint of interest ended up leading to me regaling her with the many sights that had so impressed me when I'd first stepped foot on Ro'an. Just talking about it rekindled that spark that had first ignited my love of magic.

"Really is nice to talk with someone else who… you know, gets it," I said, gesturing vaguely.

"Even in Spellford, it is rare. The Shaper's guild does collect many such people, though they are often less than stellar company. Even they don't ignore the station of my birth so easily as our dear Tamrie," Arizar replied as we finished hanging the last of her rope. "And of those who do, they all have certain… expectations of my friendship."

"Yeah. I've been lucky. Haven't had to deal with that much," I said, looking over at Bevel. "And I've had folk who I could talk to."

Arizar laid a hand on my arm. "You have done well with her. Helping her recover from her loss. They are quite fortunate to have you."

I shrugged, letting her arm fall away as I stepped over to Bevel, trying to pretend I couldn't still feel it there.

My gut churned and I felt awful at the surge of warmth that had flared in my chest at the casual gesture. Tamrie deserved better from me.

With a force of will, I pushed the thought to the side and sat down to help Bevel with her spell.

Of course, that was when Bevel noticed the web of rope we'd put up for her and leapt to her feet, running over to tackle Arizar with another hug.

Then she dragged her closer so she could hug me too. Arizar and I traded an awkward smile over Bevel's head.

Not how I would've guessed the golden rope might bring us together.

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