Apparently, the Librarian had informed all the instructors In-Yeon had a special task to complete. Their forms instructor accepted In-Yeon's attempts to mimic his classmate's versions of the orders of the day. When the Crane stabbed his pointer at In-Yeon for the stone mantras he accepted the common form without comment. This was a relief since In-Yeon did not know how he could have stayed grounded with a new mantra while he was trying to tune stones.

In the next session he was not called to work with the instructor. Instead, he was given a short staff and instructions to practice a short set. He was drenched in sweat by the time he finished so accepted the chilling fate that came with being last in the bath line. Table service was mercifully short and instead of trying to study the new forms In-Yeon meditated on the familiar ones.

The next morning on the terraces Kim Hae-sung asked if he was feeling alright. When he explained he had been tasked with tuning two new stones the older boy said he understood. Then he called over his friend Park Junseo for advice.

"I'm sorry there is no easy way to get through a slow tuning," Junseo shook his head sadly. "All I can say is your mantras are your friends. Oh, and if you give yourself a break from your stones once a day it will help. You will feel flattened the first time you take them off but I promise it gets better."

In-Yeon thanked them both sincerely but then had to hurry to catch up with his classmates.

"So why were you talking with those visitors?" One of the boys asked with a suspicious tone.

"Oh, we met on the terraces and they offered to help me with a little problem."

"You just got here. How can you have a problem you need an outsider for?"

"Well, that's just it. I don't know the city or how to get the supplies I need to make my Mother a name-day present. I meant to get something in the market on the way here but I was so worried about getting lost it slipped my mind." His explanation rang true enough to forestalled more questions from his classmates.

In-Yeon struggled on with the burden of trying to bring the new stones into alignment but pretended his lack of energy came from homesickness. He could barely imagine the tensions if he revealed anything about his crystals to his classmates. One thing he liked about Hae-sung and Junseo was how they just accepted he had crystals to tune and did not make any comment about his age or sparring level.

He was grateful for the silence in the scriptorium and happy to re-create both the text and the illustrations in the southern manuscript. The master took note of his efforts and provided him with different sized brushes and tinted stones. This caused a couple of his classmates to whisper but they were silenced by the man's scowl. In-Yeon felt a bit more confident after this so asked the master where he might get some extra parchment for personal use. He regretted being so forward so shifted back and forth as he explained he was still trying to learn temple forms and thought writing them out might help. The man offered some usable scraps which In-Yeon quickly packed away.

"I know this could be troublesome but I would also like just one fine piece for a small memorial. Some of the boys seemed worried about the classmate they lost last month and I thought I might help settle the spirit."

"What do you know of such rituals?" the man frowned.

"My mother taught me about the respect due and how important it could be for an uneasy soul."

"Hmmm." The man looked In-Yeon up and down then brought out a fine piece of parchment, a wax seal, and some sticks of incense. "Choose your time carefully. Officially we do not approve of such things."

In-Yeon bowed deeply. He made his way to the gardens and wandered down by the reflecting pools. His uncle appeared beside him without a sound and led him to a more secluded spot where they sat down and did the mid-day chant before starting in on the common stone mantras. Brother Suk-Chan then explained the temple variation to the common mantra and had In-Yeon repeat it back line by line. He then handed over a jade jar and In-Yeon put his bracelets away.

"Oh. That's what he meant." In-Yeon said to himself as he suddenly had to sit down. Then explained his encounter with the visiting seniors.

"I'm glad you have found guides closer to your own age." When he saw they boy's questioning look he explained, "Once you have your affinity stone to lock in the others, it is easy to forget how hard it is to bring your first neutrals into line. I remember struggling for quite a while. It was worse since it took me a long time to accept my affinity to serpentine. I thought Father expected something grander."

"What's grander than a stone from your home shore? How could rarity out-weigh the utility of one that calls to the tides and can warn of coming storms?" In-Yeon's wide eyes twinkled with admiration for the humble stone he treasured.

His uncle smiled sadly and said, "They say topaz favors a true heart. I think in your case it must be so. But we should eat and go back to our mantras."

When In-Yeon retrieved his bracelet from the jade jar he could not believe the jolt of energy the stones gave off.

"Center yourself boy," his uncle said sharply.

In-Yeon took a deep breath and pictured himself rooted to the earth. He closed his eyes and put his palms together and took another controlled breath. The pressure released and he could hear a number of pebbles falling back to the ground. "My stones did that?" he squeaked.

"Uncontrolled energy did that. Always set your anchor before you pick up stones."

"I thought we had. Didn't we just finish the mantra?"

"You need to pay more attention to your anchors while you are learning. With practice it should be second nature. Now scat while I sort out the mess you made of our mediation path." His grumbling tone was undercut by the grin he gave his nephew.