That Rathik sure is a charmer, in’nit he? I’m sure the reason he’s so possessive of his tirades is because he was grossly mischaracterized in the last book in which he was a major player, the long-lost paperback cult classic The Very Large and Incredibly Whiny Ermehn.

He was portrayed by the author as a whiny, petulant ermehn who didn’t really care about anything but killing canid and getting his way every single time, because he was big and important and nobody else was.

Yeah, no, that’s not real, but we’re definitely talking about the same ermehn here, for sure.

This is no doubt going to come as a surprise to many readers, but Eira is totally writing in felis script right there! HOLY MOLY! The language of the Scholars of the Spire themselves.

What in the Four Kingdoms could possibly explain this? Is she just practicing her verb conjugation? Did the Duolingo owl ping her to remind her that she’s behind on her lessons? Only time will tell.

Speaking of felis script, this seemed like a perfect opportunity to share this wonderful piece of felis-themed guest art by Shay!

It’s Isa! She’s on the case, investigating…something! She’s on that eternal hunt for knowledge, and it’s only a matter of time before her overactive imagination gives her a clue that will help her get to the bottom of it.

I love the idea that felis Scholars of the Spire may sometimes need to become detectives of sorts, putting their considerable knowledge to the test to tease out valuable information that may otherwise be hidden from them. Their livelihood depends on collecting this knowledge, so they’re gonna do whatever it takes to suss it out.

I ALSO love Shay’s style overall, which has always in all its incarnations felt like stills from some heretofore un-produced Beyond the Western Deep television show you might find on your favorite streaming service. Thank you SO MUCH Shay! We all love your work.

See you next week!