---
Fartray arrived home early. He had a plan. He had three, in fact.
First, he would speak to a cousin on the Discipline Board and make a tidy case that 'Void magic' in the yard was unsafe and improper. He would use the right words: liability, precedent, decorum. If the masters did nothing, he would make notes for later.
Second, he would learn the test routes. Aqua always learned water routes and people routes. If there was a way to nudge a gate, to move a rope, to send someone the long way round, he would find it. A delay could break a score. A delay could keep a peasant in a village where he belonged.
Third, if both steps failed, he would set a welcome at the south road after the exam. Not in the city, not where the law had too many eyes. Just beyond the gate where watchmen yawned and taxes ended. A lesson. A warning. A clean removal of a problem and his ridiculous spirit.
