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Sythyry's Journal | by Bard Bloom |
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| Read: | The original, on LiveJournal | From The Beginning | Synopsis | |||
| Background: | Glossary | Dramatis Personae | World Tree Web Site | Miscellania | ||
| Real World: | Buy World Tree | Comment | About Sythyry's Journal | Art | ||
Here's a summary of the highlights of Sythyry's journal so far, by month. Since it's a slice-of-life drama rather than a novel, the synopsis won't explain everything.
Sythyry is given an enchanted notebook by zir ancient and mighty grandparent Glikkonen, as a gift for use at school. School is Vheshrame Academy, a college for the children of the powerful, noble, rich, and/or clever in the city of Vheshrame on the world-branch Choinxeia. (The reader may decide which of those categories make Sythyry qualified.)
Sythyry immediately offends zir six-hundred-year-older sibling Hezimikkinen. This is unwise, for Hezimikkinen is to administer Sythyry's stipend. Hezimikkinen sets the stipend low -- not so low that Sythyry will be in serious trouble, but low enough so that zie must find roommates.
The first of the roommates is Dustweed, an ugly and morose Herethroy co-lover of minor nobility. The second is Thery, a Rassimel woman sponsored by Countess Gloun. Sythyry interviews and rejects Iska, a Rassimel from a distant branch, for being too foreign; afterwards, zie accepts a Cani man, Havune, as the fourth roommate.
Over the next several days, Sythyry chooses classes, meets Thery's devoted boyfriend Yarwain, finds zir classrooms (with some difficulty), and starts to learn. Zir favorite subject is Flirtatious Dance. Zie practices after class with zir Orren classmate Spirshash. They quarrel over nothing in particular, exchanging bitter letters.
The month of Oix (or Surprise) is hot in Vheshrame that year, terribly hot. Dustweed is beaten by some Herethroy as zie tries to return library books, and later by some others; nobody but Sythyry thinks this surprising. Spirshash invites Sythyry to the all-Orren, all-aquatic Grand Parade; zie kisses him intensely afterwards -- in front of his husband Oostmarine and wife Tillissa. Sythyry meets them, and gets along adequately, and thinks zie has permission to spend a night with Spirshash -- but Spirshash turns zir down, preferring cisaffectionate (same-species) relationships, preferring to attend to his marriage.
At the celebration ending Oix, Sythyry meets Real-Eel and offirrah. Real-Eel is an Orren woman. Offirrah is a condiment of fermented snakes, peppers, and garlic. Sythyry and Real-Eel go on a few dates, and Sythyry grills sardines for her with zir flame breath in an attempt at romance. Sythyry discovers Real-Eel's history with Crown Prince Nestrune Kreslink, a Rassimel man in their social circle.
Sythyry's first term ends at with the end of Consimbs. Zir grades are generally adequate.
Sythyry has an astounding bad sallad [sic] at a bad cafe. A mouse is discovered in the pantry of the apartment, and Sythyry gets a cat named Pazi-Pazi from Real-Eel to keep such things from happening again, and to generally molest zir. Tethezai, a Rassimel art student of high birth and low moral standards, paints a portrait of everyone else in the apartment. Sythyry makes friends (not romantic) with the Orren baker Floosh; takes a course in spelunking; endures zir relationship with Real-Eel fizzling to nothing. Thery and Havune start having difficulties sharing a room -- Havune demands great neatness, and Thery is simply generally neat. Dean Celandine Carsnell steps on Sythyry's forehand by mistake, breaking it.
Dinner at the Yistreian restaurant Tamvaus with Ghirbis Vlaan, a Rassimel woman from Yistreia whom Sythyry calls zir Evil Neighbor for no obvious reason. The thirtieth annual Spontaneous Unplanned Library Riot over library fees happens with some amusement. Spirshash, Tillissa, and Oostmarine start having marital difficulties. Floosh mocks Sythyry by means of Thery's birthday cake. Tethezai woos Dustweed, winning zir body embarrassingly easily and zir heart with somewhat more difficulty.
A thoughtless remark by Sythyry at dinner stings Dustweed; Sythyry learns what many people had known, that Dustweed is not a co-lover, but a both-female: a freakish combination of co-lover and female, not entirely unknown among Herethroy, and generally despised. Sythyry is very disturbed -- zie had intended to have respectable roommates, and Dustweed is hardly that. It takes zir several days to get used to the idea.
Sythyry meets and starts dating a tall Orren woman whose family name is Strenata, but who changes her first name every few days. Strenata generally dislikes nobility, and Sythyry is arguably noble; there is a certain amount of tension. Thery and Yarwain complain about personal difficulties: Thery owes decades of service to Countess Gloun, and Yarwain is a Great Baron in Ulmarn; neither one can easily move, and it will be difficult for them to marry.
Thery and Havune's difficulties sharing a room come to a head, and Thery moves out to live with Yarwain. In her place, and in somewhat of a hurry, a divorced Rassimel man named Dubaille comes to share the room, promising to be a better roommate. Dubaille gets off to a bad start by destroying Dustweed's valuable ceramic teapot.
Dubaille tries to get Dustweed a new teapot, and fails. Sythyry and Strenata date a few more times. Sythyry has four dinners in a single night, as various friends talk to zir. Dubaille proves to be a rather messy roommate. Sythyry tries to go on a swimming date with Strenata, but they are distracted by a duel-war between two neighboring city states being held in the park that they were going to swim at. Dubaille gets Dustweed a very bad teapot. Sythyry goes shopping with Spirshash for a gift for his husband and wife Oostmarine and Tillissa. The next day, Oostmarine and Tillissa accuse Sythyry of adultery and marriage-breaking; as news of that gets around town, Strenata dumps Sythyry. With some effort, zie persuades her that zie is innocent.
Nihondras Day is celebrated with many cakes of various sizes and qualities. Sythyry's ~mother~ tells zir that zie should take more magic classes, and, if zie does, zir allowance will go directly to zir. Spirshash comes to Sythyry's window in the middle of the night, in a wild rush, to repay Sythyry for a minor debt. Sythyry finishes zir Enchantment project: a talisman that can make 14 gallons of water, once a day. Sythyry and Strenata plan a date; Strenata breaks it to go gather square crabs with her roommate Oonspath. Floosh invites Sythyry to spend a week in her home village of Threeze between terms, and Sythyry accepts. The term ends with adequate grades and minor annoyances for most people, and Tillissa and Oostmarine divorcing each other (but both staying married to Spirshash.)
Sythyry (and Iska, also invited by Floosh) spends a restful, almost boring, week in Threeze. Despite many Orren in the area, nobody flirts with zir much. Sythyry dances with the blind Orren girl Riverred, meets Floosh's child-or-so Flounderbouncer and his girlfriend Tliskit, enjoys an ice storm.
Back at home, while Sythyry was gone, Oostmarine started to seduce Havune, or vice-versa, and Spirshash challenged Havune to a duel over the incident. Spirshash won, spearing Havune hard enough so that he needs a few days rest to recover. (Also Spirshash divorced both Oostmarine and Tillissa.)
First Day (1 Trandary 4261) is long and eventful, with dates, revelations about friends, carolling, public performances of plays, religious ceremonies, a meal with Tethezai and Dustweed and Dustweed's furious family; further explanations about Tethezai's disturbing sexual orientation; a very fun date in which Sythyry and Strenata devour many cities; further parties.
Sythyry's classes for the third term start; zie has chosen enough magic classes to satisfy zir ~mother~, and is pleased to collect a much larger stipend. Zie and Strenata go on further dates. Dubaille's ex-wife has him beaten by a sort of weak version of lawful feud; Havune, despite hating Dubaille, intervenes to give him the least intense beating that is allowed by law. Sythyry's stipend includes money for a servant; Darkwad (an enterprising Rassimel boy) is interviewed, but chooses a career as a street food vendor instead. Jarmiet, a pleasant Cani woman, gets the job.
Sythyry meets and is repeatedly sketched by Esory, a Rassimel woman with considerable skill and family tradition in Enchantment. Strenata makes a date for a stroll with Sythyry, but gets there very late due to her prior date (riding with Nestrune) going very long; the result is a quarrel, though repaired in a few days. Strenata continues going riding with Nestrune every few days though, leaving Sythyry quite jealous. Dustweed is evicted from a class due to being a both-female. Yarwain is acting oddly; Sythyry deduces that he is having an affair with Iska. Sythyry is wrong; in fact Yarwain and Thery have decided to have a child, thereby forcing their marriage despite their parents and Countess Gloun's disapproval.
Sythyry continues to try to date Strenata, with some trouble. Strenata goes riding every day or two with Crown Prince Nestrune of Daukrhame, whom she seems to favor somewhat over Sythyry; she even lets him change her name now and then. Sythyry manages to go riding with Strenata once (see the artwork).
Sythyry tries to track Spirshash down, which is not so easy. In the process, Sythyry decides to rent a reasonably nice house, Quelldrie House, with zir so-called Evil Neighbor Ghirbis Vlaan. The actual move will not come for a month or two; at the moment, Quelldrie House is inhabited by many messy students.
Strenata's adventuring partner Rhedwy, a Sleeth woman, enters Vheshrame academy. She and some friends moves into Spirshash's old apartment, without bothering to paint over the howling heads. Rhedwy is studying Enchantment, and, due to Sythyry's small size, they are sharing a table. Sythyry is not pleased. Rhedwy insinuates herself into Sythyry's social circle somewhat, at which Sythyry is even less pleased.
Sythyry and Ghirbis look for roommates for their future house. Havune is rejected for excessive fussiness. Thery and Yarwain want their own home. And so on... Broon and Narngi, both engaged to Havune, are selected; two other slots are empty.
Tethezai shows her true colors, dating (and coupling with) various people other than Dustweed. Dustweed is miserable, but endures.
There are digressions on why Dustweed can't be fixed by magic, popular Orren fantastical literature, and .Prince Nestrune's charger rips Strenata's belly open by mistake. Strenata is surprisingly polite and even unruffled about the matter.
There are rumors that Strenata is sexually temperate, perhaps even chaste. Nonetheless, she and Sythyry go to a party at Rhedwy's apartment, which proves to be a more sensual affair than it might be. In the end of the evening, Sythyry happens on Rhedwy and her roommates sharing a Herethroy prostitute in the back bedroom. They languidly invite zir to join them; zie flees.
Dustweed is invited as the next roommate. Agrimony, a Herethroy from an important family, is chosen as a new roommate. He is apparently a liberal gentleman, interested in nonprime rights and such.
A rough-looking Rassimel woman calling herself Levande and wearing Gloun insignia shows up at the apartment asking for Thery. Sythyry and Dustweed think she is a thug or worse, sent to intimidate their friend; they delay Levande and send word to Thery. In fact Levande is Countess Gloun, and simply trying to talk to Thery about the rumors of Thery's pregnancy. Of course the rumors are true, and the encounter is not happy.
Sythyry finally manages to graft Cloak of Another God. Zie tries it out on a date with Strenata, turning into a female Orren. Zie/she tries to get intimate with Strenata, but Strenata, after considerable pressure, admits that she is cisaffectionate and will not get intimate with Sythyry, not even an Orren-body Sythyry. Sythyry is devastated.
Levande Gloun invites Sythyry to tea at the very expensive restaurant Darraden's. Esory accompanies Sythyry, secretly and disguisedly, for zir defense. Levande isn't being vicious though; she just wanted to explain her side of the story about Thery. She is sponsoring the rest of Thery's education, but set it up in a way that doesn't account for Thery's pregnancy or new child. (She didn't really figure that out when she made the offer.) Sythyry picks up Levande's habit of saying "slootly" for "absolutely".
Esory demands a date from Sythyry for services done. It takes several tries to appear, but is fairly fun. A Khtsoyis tries to steal her family's chariot, who talks him out of it. Esory brings Sythyry home for a sampler of brandies and essences, and kisses zir intensely. Sythyry flies home, to find Dustweed, Narngi, and Havune beating up Dubaille, as a result of Dubaille stabbing Havune, as a result of Havune asking Dubaille what had become of some of Havune's valuable jewelry.
Adventurers from Daukrhame come to rescue Prince Nestrune from an insidious or incompetant plot.
At the end of the month, Sythyry and others move to Quelldrie House.
Thery and Yarwain's unborn child is temporarily named "Macropodia Elegans".
Sythyry grafts Cloak of Another God, a spell allowing zir to change to any other prime species. Zie switches to Orren, hoping to catch Strenata's attention. Being bipedal and large when you've been quadrupedal and small all your life is not so simple ... and Strenata still knows that Sythyry is really a Zi Ri, and is not interested. Sythyry mopes for a while, chatting with Rassimel, but does not realize Esory's obvious interest in zir.
Levande invites Sythyry to Darraden's for a little conversation. Esory decides to accompany them, in disguise as an invisible bird, in case Sythyry needs some help. (Thery is upset that Sythyry has picked up Levande's use of the word "slootly" for "absolutely".) Levande just wants to tell Sythyry her side of the story with Thery, which isn't particularly different or surprising. Sythyry leaves after the chat, forgetting about Esory, who has to sneak out of the restaurant on her own.
Esory teases Sythyry into taking her out for a date. After some confusion about what day it will be, they go to Gounne Gousse, a determinedly fancy (and insanely floofy) restaurant. They take Esory's family's sentient carridge. When they get out, a Khtsoyis is trying to steal the carridge, but the carridge is playing mind games with it. The evening ends with a sampling of brandies, and nothing more interesting.
When Sythyry gets back home, zir roommates are deciding whether to kill Dubaille -- Dubaille has stolen several things from them, and stabbed Havune when Havune accused him of it. Dubaille is not killed, but is evicted.
At the end of the month, Sythyry moves to a private room in Quelldrie House, with Ghirbis, Anoof, Narngi, Dustweed, and Agrimony.
Sythyry and roommates decide to give each room of Quelldrie House a long and exotic name. Strenata and Rhedwy indulge themselves in some very violent combat practice in the city streets. Ghirbis invites all their friends over for a dinner consisting of several bean-and-noodle dishes, and beer, which isn't very good but is at least plentiful. They get a pet blossomary named Sprillet, which is a rather annoying pet. Anoof persuades Sythyry to get a romantic hat, for greater attractiveness; zie actually gets two.
And it works. An Orren student and gentleman of Daukrhame named Ilottat invites Sythyry to a private dining room at Darraden's for dinner. (Without, incidentally, having seen the hat -- Anoof was his go-between.) It's an impressive dinner, with very fancy food -- and a bed in the corner of the room. The dinner is a bit awkward, but quite nice. And Ilottat awkwardly but nicely asks Sythyry to fornicate... and Sythyry finally has an Orren lover!
But a somewhat troublesome one. Ilottat has had some troubles with his father about Ilottat's taste for Zi Ri -- though of course Sythyry was his first actual full-time Zi Ri lover -- and begs Sythyry to be secretive about it. Sythyry, infatuated, is happy to oblige.
Their second date is in Ilottat's room in the Daukrhame embassy. Sythyry comes in Orren form, and the date never leaves the room, but Sythyry enjoys it considerably anyways.
In public, Ilottat is not so nice. In the buttery, he pretends he doesn't know Sythyry. Sythyry is very upset, but Ilottat sends a card begging for forgiveness, and they make up pleasantly, in private. Ilottat insists that he's not transaffectionate, but has no good alternate explanation for his intense infatuation with Sythyry. Sythyry ranges from perplexed to confused on this topic.
Many friends express strong opinions of this affair, mostly trying to protect one or the other. Nestrune (protecting Ilottat) reveals that Ilottat is married. It's an arranged marriage, with an heiress named Ysgwyd -- who is also transaffectionate, and deeply in love with a Khtsoyis. The two don't live together or love each other, and their marriage is founded on adultery. (Actually, Anoof had told Sythyry about it, a while ago, and Ilottat had obliquely told zir about it on their first date.) It's still a challenging situation for Sythyry.
It's not a very cheap relationship. Ilottat insists that Sythyry use magical disguises. Sythyry winds up dropping a week of enchantment because zie wants to save cley in case zie can visit Ilottat. Zir friends give zir considerable trouble for this decision.
The Belweldies, Ysgwyd's parents, somehow find out about Ilottat's affair with Sythyry. (Not hard -- anyone paying attention knows about it.) They invite Ilottat and Sythyry to dinner, hoping to make the most of the social connection. Sythyry shows up on time to the dinner; Ilottat is late. Ysgwyd is there on time, and friendly but very rude ("Oh, you're my husband's new chippie? Glad ta meecha.") Ilottat finally shows up, and Ysgwyd is just as rude to him. Then Ysgwyd's boyfriend Delframber appears -- he was lurking there, invisible -- and is exceedingly polite to everyone. Ilottat and Ysgwyd demonstrate actual affection, and defend each other against the Belweldies' harshness. Ysgwyd finally reveals her parents' instructions in the rudest terms, and the dinner party is prematurely but devastatingly over. Ysgwyd, Delframber, Ilottat, and Sythyry go to Across Saga -- a "traff cafe", for transaffectionate people -- before going home, and have a pleasant conversation.
As a result of this, Sythyry starts getting a bit political about being traff -- transaffectionate.
Thery isn't doing very well. Levande and Sythyry conspire to help her -- well, Levande is doing most of the conspiring, Sythyry is simply being dragged along. Levande bullies Thery's doctor. The doctor initially thinks Levande is trying to bully him into providing inferior treatment, but Levande is more suble or something: she is trying to bully him into preparing extreme measures to save Thery.
Sythyry gets more political about being traff. Most of zir friends aren't so political or even clear about it -- not even the ones in interspecies relations.
Sythyry is studying the Battle of Pelcour (some two thousand years ago). Zir grandparent Yylhauntra is the only remaining survivor of that. News of this percolates to Yylhauntra, who decides to come visit zir grandchild whom zie has not yet met.
Yylhauntra is pleasant but intimidating. Sythyry and friends spend a while chatting with zir. Zie intimidates Sythyry's professor considerably, especially when it becomes clear that Yylhauntra was on the losing (and morally wrong) side of the battle. Yylhauntra reveals that the first primes were all cisaffectionate, which displeases Sythyry a good deal. Yylhauntra is not particularly displeased at Sythyry's relationship with Ilottat, though zie does declare that it will end badly. Sythyry's adventurery friends mention that they've seen a nendrai, which disturbs Yylhauntra a great deal; Yylhauntra hates those monsters, and tries to get Hezimikkinen to deal with it.
Not long after that, Strenata and Sythyry go out riding, and stop at a tavern by Fort Anastrense. An Orren woman joins them; Strenata introduces her as Vae, "a very strange Orren." Sythyry figures that means she's traff, and flirts with her. Strenata gets alarmed. Vae casts an insanely powerful and complicated privacy spell around the table: Sythyry has just made a pass at the nendrai.
Vae didn't seem to notice, probably because she is prepubescent. Strenata and Vae and Sythyry chat; Strenata was due to visit Vae in a few days, but Vae decided to meet her early. They have a complicated and stressful conversation -- Vae could kill Strenata and Sythyry with a tailflick if she wanted, but they are by Fort Anastrense, which could hurt Vae terribly if she did. Vae wanted to talk to Strenata about some sort of trouble she was in; a year ago they had made some arrangements for Vae living near Vheshrame, but Vae had violated the terms, and wanted to renegotiate them. Part of the renegotiation involved someone doing shopping in the city for Vae (nendrai crave prime-created things); Strenata volunteers Sythyry for that, much to zir dismay. Strenata says something harsh, and Vae starts crying. Her tears are chips of glass that force their bloody way out of her eyes. Strenata wipes Vae's eyes with her handkerchief. They finish the negotiations, pending the Duke's approval.
Back in Vheshrame, the Duke, Hezimikkinen, and Kaim-Su are immediately interested in what happened. The Duke generally approves of the arrangements. Strenata shows off the handkerchief with Vae's blood, which can be used as a weapon against her via advanced wizardry. The Duke makes her a baron for that (and for other things not mentioned), rather to her stunned dismay. Sythyry had the presence of mind to figure out how good the nendrai's spells were; the duke is pleased with that too. Sythyry is formally appointed ambassador to the nendrai, which zie and all zir relatives are very upset with.
As part of that, Sythyry is supposed to take a class in nendrai. The dean is not pleased at having to come up with a new class in mid-term (and Sythyry isn't pleased at having to change zir schedule), but the duke's wish is done.
Sythyry starts zir ambassadorial duties, which are: to meet Vae every three days, and trade geegaws for knicknacks with her, and control her. Vae is extremely helpful, and glad of a friend ... and teleports them both to her favorite city of Bfelmykh, and does nasty mind-magic to give Sythyry the language. Bfelmykh is a city of monsters, and, when they see a prime, some of them attack. Vae defends Sythyry, and Sythyry's grandparent's seven-winged burning thing helps as well. There is much chaos.
Sythyry has The Conversation -- that's the one in which zie tells Vae not to cast spells on zir (or anyone) without permission. Vae agrees not to. Three minutes later, she does it again. And again. And again. She's incapable of not being helpful, with the full force of her magic.
Which is sometimes dangerous. She puts an umbrella spell on Sythyry that keeps all liquids away from zir. Zie panics for a while, before figuring out a way to get a drink despite the spell.
It's going to be tricky, being ambassador to a nendrai.
Sythyry tries to sign up for classes a bit late, with some trouble. Ysgwyd writes zir a nice and/or hideously insulting note, leaving zir rather upset. Sythyry starts using adventurer-style spells with Vae, and has The Conversation several more times.
Thery undergoes an extremely unpleasant labor and birth. At one point, the main doctor gives up; Levande throws her rank around (and threatens doctors with Sythyry's nendrai) and gets a second doctor. Thery survives, but barely, and Ficina is born. Thery will be in a coma for some weeks. Levande bullies everyone into letting her (Levande) wet-nurse the baby; this requires a (painful) lactation spell, which she bullies Sythyry into grafting and casting.
Part of the treaty with the nendrai was that the nendrai perform a sort of magical assault on the city-state of Oorah Thrassen -- a kind of counting coup, rather than an actual attack. The chosen attack is to give everyone in Oorah Thrassen (outside the city walls) a breakfast box -- all at the same time, by using a single spontaneous spell. (This is an awesome display of power, which few beings on the World Tree could manage.)
Real-Eel tries to bribe Vae to teleport her boyfriend Vingi home to deal with an emergency there. Sythyry persuades her it's a bad idea.
However, it's not so simple. First the breakfast boxes must be made. Sythyry hires Floosh to do it; she thinks it's a joke at first, but when the money shows up she believes it. Vae takes a certain amount of persuading as well.
Sythyry notes various crushes on Orren who are not Ilottat, which causes zir some worry. As zir relationship with Ilottat becomes more obvious, some of Ilottat's friends in the Daukrhame Diplomatic Corps try to persuade Sythyry to leave him (for his own good), but Sythyry refuses.
The pastry box project proves to be rather a pain. Floosh's bakery is too small to do it; she uses Threeze instead. Vae and Sythyry have to go and make ovens, and, later, solve a great many other minor problems. They teleport here and there, picking up 1728 eggs, some toasted almonds that got delayed, some doilies, some flattened paper boxes. In these voyages they meet a great many Sleeth and are given a great deal of sarcasm. Sythyry collects a kiss from one of Flooosh's adult children -- more under duress than zie realizes -- which the Orren all resent. Finally the pastry assault is done, and goes off without any particular problem aside from most of the people involved thinking it's dead stupid.
Oorah Thrassen strikes back, sending a giant illusion of the Duke doing some embarrassing things. The Duke has Vae dispose of the illusion. The Duke thinks that Vheshrame won that round; nobody else in Vheshrame expresses a direct opinion. Sythyry gets scolded for not embezzling properly (specifically, for denying that zie embezzled any of the pastry-box funds -- ordinarily someone in zir position would take a cut for zirself, then report it to the treasury. Sythyry didn't realize that, and didn't take any, and was not believed when zie said so.)
Sythyry has been going back to Across Saga, the traff cafe. One of Sythyry's friends in the city warns Sythyry that Across Saga is going to get raided, and its regulars shaken down; this happens occasionally. Sythyry is forbidden to warn the entire place, but does warn zir friend the Cani thief Thestra. Thestra pays zir back by bringing zir home for dinner with her Sleeth boyfriend. Nothing interesting happens, but Ilottat gives Sythyry a great deal of trouble about the incident anyways, and they break up. Sythyry flies out of Ilottat's apartment, leaving zir Orren-shape clothes behind.
Thestra steals Sythyry's Orren-shape clothes back, and Ilottat's collection of Zi Ri pornography as well.
Two days later, Sythyry and Ilottat are back together, with Sythyry agreeing to some fairly harsh restrictions on zir behavior (e.g., not going back to Across Saga). The stolen clothes and pornography are not mentioned. Sythyry plans to cheat on the restrictions. Ilottat and Sythyry date some, with Sythyry wearing an Orren shape. Sythyry gets a sympathy letter from Ysgwyd explaining how lousy Ilottat is.
At home, Agrimony is being a pain: he doesn't approve of transaffection, or of Dustweed, despite thinking he did when he moved in.
Sythyry discovers that the adventurer-style exercises zie's been doing while ambassadoring are paying off, and that zie's getting good with magic. Zie decides to buy a bunch of fancy spells. Zir ~mother~ (who is paying for them) gets quite upset at zir choices, and makes zir return half of them.
Vae drags Sythyry off to see her home. Sythyry notes an inside-out Gormoror on the mantlepiece: a man who evidently assaulted one of Vae's other friends, and whom she is punishing a bit while she tries to figure out what to do with him. Sythyry makes a clever trade to retrieve him, though he was quite badly hurt.
Sythyry's Nendrai Ethology class is taught by two professors, who get into a terrible fight. Nestrune arranges a compromise.
Sythyry's enchantment project for the term is a device to carry a few pounds of stuff following her, which is very useful for a small person. When showing it off to zir friends, Sythyry accidentally shows Ilottat one of the shoes that Thestra stole from Ilottat's room. Ilottat figures out the theft, and dumps Sythyry.
Sythyry's friends try to cheer zir up. Vae turns zir into a snake, thinking it will help, but it doesn't.
Sythyry gets a date with Zanniajaia, a cute Orren woman in one of zir classes. It's pleasant, but Zanniajaia doesn't seem to realize it's a date. Sythyry (following Nestrune's advice) goes to Across Saga, determined to get laid, but doesn't do at all well; in the end Thestra rescues zir.
Zir grades are not very good that term. It's been a very harsh term.