At dawn on the fifth day, clear autumn sunlight poured through the eastern window of the hospice, warming the pine medicine table where Halin stood grinding dried reed pith in a stone mortar. Seyun sat on the bench beside the table with his left arm resting comfortably in its sling and his worn Ash Reed Account Book open before him.
Before climbing the northern ridge on the Twelfth Night, he had left the book in Mina’s keeping so that if he didn’t come back down the service path, someone would hold the honest record of the rules copied from Master Uren’s tablet and the names of the people owed payback. During the four days since the battle, Mina had run out of blank slate space and used the wide lower margins of his ledger pages to record broth schedules, stitch counts, healing wrap changes, and pulse intervals for every patient in the building.
Seyun turned the stiff paper leaves with his right hand. He read his own training entries alongside his sister’s cramped cold and exact notes. Above the line, in his hand: Day 7 Echo Answered — Early Jade (Responsive Purpose) Proved Under Daro’s Short Sword. Below the line, in Mina’s hand: Candidate Senn — dorsal brace straps adjusted 1 finger looser. Candidate Pera — left-foot warmth steady, no wire tremor. Seyun — L. Shoulder set, 5-day breath flow ban, 4th-night shedding normal. For the first time, the book looked complete. Measuring martial capability and the human care needed…
