One could write a book about the topics just barely skimmed over in this chapter, and Eliezer Yudkowsky has. It’s called Inadequate Equilibria, if anyone is interested.
As always, discussion is welcome. 
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So… Do we get a super-duper long chapter in two weeks?
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Thanks as always for the chapter. Do take care wildfires can be rather dangerous so always good to check any firebreaks or relatively unlikely to burn routes just in case. Interesting book, my own understanding of such things is more from a fairly wide range of things like peace theory and artificial land change historical knock on effects for infrastructure.
Its nice that Siobahn got a better feeling of calibration through this conversation. While I suspect she may need time and need to culviate a concept with Legion, I wonder if Siobahn couldnt literally sever a affiliation with memory by cutting off a part of identity for someone in the spirit realm.
It strikes me escaping a vow has a lot of symmetry with the dynamics of making a agreement with a spirit in the spirit realm. Specifically for things of definement like names, and their likely risk. If you name a spirit simply say, Red, it could use other context in which the term, color, pattern of light, density and texture can relate to the concept. Similarly then it seems pushing ones will against a vow may be helping to push the definition away from being symmetrical with the original context of the vow. Much like Siobahns own abstractions of transmogrification. I can see this making binding Legion without its agreement particularly dangerous as any new concepts it grows may shift the boundaries of its self in the spirit realm, though perhaps with close enough symmetry of affiliation this is lessened. I kind of assume similar stuff probably applies to familiars in general.
Will breaking only being possible through spells specifically is really interesting. If we think of the will as kind of a means to shape other parts of the spirit realm and tying them to actions of ones own identity in the physical world it would fit Aberrants simply being a spell that goes too far into concepts that are alienated from the baseline. Enough that they disrupt the equation that maintains the humanity/continuity of self of the given mage. So long as you dont breach the barrier of the spirit world though the will is mostly fine, which may make sense in that the physical world seems to provide the continual feedback loop that maintains the kind of illusion of individuality/specific haeccity that enables someone to maintain themselves. Thus the whole “breaking into pieces in the Spirit Realm” thing.
As a sidenote to all that, I must wonder are Razorback Geese similar to regular geese? Like super aggressive due to living with their families and bonded mates while not being that mobile on land vs the water or sky, and thus incredibly proactive in aggression to try and keep their bonded ones safe?
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I miss Eliezer Yudkowsky’s days of rabid support for developing aligned artificial superintelligence and declaring only he had the vision to do it - and hence all AI research should be given over to him.
Which is, for those who missed it, a slightly different position than he has today.
I wasn’t an Extropian, but I did read their posts, and they’re even funnier now than they were at the time.
Our problems in this world go back to our constant division and ignorance, and an eagerness to set up false gods to rule over us all. Hence the phrase describing Communism - “the god that failed.”
Deifying a human system or human ruler means it is impossible to change even slightly save by heresy. Even a visionary design at the cutting edge of the possible will be dated in a Millennia in the ancient world, a century in the Medieval, a decade in the industrial and perhaps months today.
Perhaps prayer should be separated from politics - save in purifying our character to the point that it reshapes the world all on its own.
While leaving us the freedom to experiment in our policies and laws, our science and technology, without every aging element somehow being holy writ and holy law.
That’s a little more Warhammer 40K than any other parody SF universe I can think of.
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I appreciate Sebastien/Siobhan talking to Lacer in the first of her identities. She was going to have to do this or avoid him forever, which would probably mean fleeing the continent or ultimately even the world. Thaddeus and the Red Guard would be tenacious hunters.
I also like how Sebastien played once again on the Raven Queen’s reputation to convince someone powerful and discerning that she can do far more than she can… to cover up her own tracks.
I assume all of this breaks at some point, though probably not until Siobhan is far-more capable of defending herself. Unlike Oliver, though, she hasn’t been planning to shed her disguises for years as an inevitable consequence of her goals.
Beyond that, I like that the Gesturan magic isn’t being allowed to languish.
I know Sebastien brought up light refinement with Damien before and he wasn’t interested, but given how important it is to avoid break events and will strain - and to strengthen and protect her friends and allies - I could see this dance as being one of the key tools in the Unnamed Order and the Undreaming Order.
Along with the esoteric symbols connecting her people, using ravens to avoid sleep (preferably without killing them) and her ability to use Will to effect the emotional state of a person or area… which sounds like an excellent way to train the will in people not yet using magic itself. Even if a conduit is required.
There are a bunch of other things I could see Siobhan doing to increase her power and protect her friends and her interests now that she’s no longer restricted to only what she personally can handle.
Given allies, friends, employees and money, she can put a great deal into motion. But more on that later.
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The Raven Queen will teach her cult gesturian shadow magic, not light.
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And so, the apprentice slowly begins to surpass the master. He taught her illusions, now she does them better.
In more ways than one.
I wonder if Myrddin had so many identities to help him escape his vows. I recall Lacer’s strange questions about if the Red Guard had changed all that much since Myrddin’s day.
I wonder if they, too, came out of the Work - in one form, or another.
“If there are people like you, who have subverted their vows, and people like Hite…are the Red Guard’s vows still useful? Are they, as an organization, really most focused on preserving the future of the world? Or do they care more about preserving themselves?”
I’m not sure we got an answer to that, this chapter (even obliquely). We try again next chapter 
I wonder what Lacer is thinking, as he watches his apprentice casually demonstrate gesturan magics learned over weeks instead of months or years while chatting away like it’s nothing.
Especially when he “knows” that those weeks and months have not been a relaxing study session but fraught with danger and competing priorities.
A monster egg, he called her.
The egg is starting to hatch.
After two reads, I still haven’t caught any typos, though I did pause on “the chances are greater than even” to puzzle than one out.
Thanks for the chapter and stay safe.
I prefer my authors unburned.
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I doubt that she is going to be that concerned about what she teaches her cult being thematically appropriate. If anything she’ll be more concerned about enforcing the theme of chasing after mystery and the importance of learning as much as you can instead of limiting yourself. So I do think she’s likely to teach any capable of learning the light reinforcement spell.
The Raven Queen 100% wont teach light refinement. It’s Sebastians thing, he might teach people.
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We will see. If there is any chance of discovery of their connection then no she won’t teach it as the Raven Queen or Siobhan but since there’s already a believable connection between the two that explains how she learned his spell I don’t really see why she’d be concerned about keeping it separate.
If she’s thought it through then the fact there are two people who are very good/quick at mastering gesturan magic could raise suspicions unnecessarily. It would be less suspicious if Sebastians prowess is utilised by the Raven Queen in her Undreaming Order.
One of these days Lacer is going to get confused enough to revaluate his understanding properly and when he finally does that it would be wise make sure he has as little as possible that hints towards the truth.
I honestly think, that out of everyone, damien would be the first to figure out the raven queen is sabastien simply because he goes for the more outlandish conclusions.
At this point I think lacer would need to see the transformation happen to believe it, and even then, he likely wouldn’t. He would be more likely to think the raven queen was impersonating sabastien as a sick joke than them being the same person. He views the two as having drastically different personalities and levels of skill. It also doesnt help he seems to believe the raven queen is from Myrddins time.
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Either way, I don’t think either of her personas can teach gesturan magic in a particularly effective way. Her being a genius at it, in Lacer’s estimation, isn’t anything to be taken lightly considering his standards.
My guess is that it would take the average person 1-3 years of weekly supervised practice before the beginnings of results for light refinement. And that much still requires the dedication to keep showing up and trying in addition to a master instructor who can correct all kinds of small errors in the movement. Most people would probably never be able to pick it up from a book/scroll.
The simple comparison in our world would be learning an advanced yoga sequence, tai chi form, and/or karate kata from scratch with no prior familiarity.
I don’t think Siobhan is willing to commit anywhere near the free time to get that truly started with a school for that.
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