63. Practice

In a flashback set eight years before the present timeline, Eshonai witnesses her sister Venli presenting trapped spren in gemstones to the elders as a means to access new forms, including a powerful warform learned from the humans. Meanwhile, Eshonai discovers her mother Jaxlim experiencing memory loss and cognitive decline, which Venli suggests the new forms might cure. The elders begin considering Venli's discovery as a potential solution to strengthen their people in the face of human contact.

The chapter opens eight years in the past with Eshonai examining a gemstone containing a trapped painspren, a technique Venli claims to have learned from humans. In council with the elders, Venli confidently presents multiple gemstones and proposes that trapped spren could unlock new forms, particularly warform, and allow better control over mateform. Eshonai, recently returned from exploring expeditions seeking human settlements, presents a message from the human king requesting formalized relations and suggests uniting the scattered Parshendi families through showing them maps of the wider world. The elders dismiss her proposal. Eshonai later discovers her mother Jaxlim wandering confused and disoriented, unable to remember recent events—signs of cognitive deterioration. Jaxlim acknowledges the severity of her condition, comparing herself to their ancestors who bore weakness. When Venli returns home, she reveals that the elders have approved volunteers to attempt the new forms she's discovered. She suggests to their mother that certain forms, preserved through songs, offer greater mental resilience and could help combat Jaxlim's declining mind. Jaxlim, recognizing this as both a solution and honoring Venli's work, volunteers to be among the first to attempt the transformation. Eshonai observes her sister's joy at this development, though she notices something unsettling about Venli's rhythm—faster and more violent than usual—and cautions herself against letting jealousy cloud her judgment.