The Rithmatist

it’s meaningless,” Joel said. “My father didn’t know anything more than we do. He figured out that other lines existed—he even managed to draw a replica of one—but couldn’t make it work.”
    “Well,” Fitch said, sorting through the papers. “There is one important point here, a theory from your father as to why the symbol didn’t work. You see, there is a group of scholars who believe that a Rithmatic line functions based on the Rithmatist’s goals in drawing it. They point to the fact that if we write words in chalk—or even doodle in chalk—nothing comes to life unless we’re specifically attempting to do a Rithmatic drawing. None of the straight lines in the alphabet accidentally turn into Lines of Forbiddance, for example.
    “Therefore, the Rithmatist’s desires affect what he draws. Not in a quantifiable way—for instance, a Rithmatist can’t simply wish his Lines of Forbiddance to be stronger. However, if a Rithmatist doesn’t intend to draw a Line of Forbiddance, the line simply won’t work.”
    “So, the reason you couldn’t make the swirl pattern do anything…” Joel said.
    “Was because I don’t know what it’s supposed to do,” Fitch said. “Your father believed that unless he could match the proper type of line with the knowledge of what it did, nothing would come of it.”
    Fitch pulled out another sheet. “Some laughed at him for that, I fear. I, um, vaguely remember some of these incidents. At one point, your father convinced some Rithmatists to draw his lines—I wasn’t involved, and didn’t pay much attention at the time, or I might have remembered his interest in new Rithmatic lines earlier. But he wasn’t able to make those lines do anything, even though he had a large number of possible intentions for them to try out. From his writings here, he saw that as a major defeat.”
    There was a loud sigh from the floor, where Melody lay, listening and staring up at the ceiling. She must have to launder her skirts daily, Joel thought, considering how much she likes to sit on the floor, and climb trees, and lie on the ground .
    “Bored, dear?” Fitch asked her.
    “Only mildly,” Melody said. “Keep going.” Then, however, she sighed again.
    Fitch raised an eyebrow toward Joel, who shrugged. Sometimes, Melody just liked to remind everyone else that she was around.
    “Regardless,” Fitch said, “this is a wonderful discovery.”
    “Even if it doesn’t tell us what the line does?”
    “Yes,” Fitch replied. “Your father was meticulous. He gathered stacks of texts—some of them quite rare—and annotated them, listing any that contained hints or theories about new Rithmatic lines. Why, it’s almost like your father looked forward in time and saw just what we needed for this investigation. His notes will save us months!”
    Joel nodded.
    “I daresay,” Fitch said, almost to himself, “we really should have taken Trent far more seriously. Yes indeed. Why, the man was a closet genius. It’s like discovering that your doorman is secretly a scholar of advanced springwork theory and has been building a working Equilix in his spare time. Hum…”
    Joel ran his fingers across one of the volumes, imagining his father working in this very room, crafting his chalk, all the while thinking on Rithmatic wonders. Joel remembered sitting on the floor, looking up at the table and listening to his father hum. He remembered the smell of the kiln burning. His father baked some of his chalks, while he dried others in the air, always searching for the ideal composition, durability, and brightness of lines.
    Melody sat up and brushed some curly red hair out of her eyes. “You all right?” she asked, watching him.
    “Just thinking about my father.”
    She sat there for a time, looking at him. “So,” she finally said, “tomorrow is Saturday.”
    “And?”
    “The day after that is Sunday.”
    “All right.…”
    “You need to talk to the vicar,” she explained. “You have to get him to agree that you should be allowed to go through the inception.”
    “What’s this?” Fitch asked, looking up from a book.
    “Joel’s going to be incepted,” Melody said.
    “That wasn’t done when he was eight?” Fitch asked.
    “Oh, it was,” Melody said. “They screwed it up. We’re going to make them let him do it again.”
    “I doubt we can make them do anything, Melody,” Joel said quickly. “I don’t even know if this is the right time to worry about