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Still posting from one of the books of the Academy of the Accord series, showcasing two of my favorite characters. (Okay, yes, they’re all my favorites, but Yhon and Bry – especially Bry – hold a special place all their own.) I was going to skip ahead and show you an older Brythel, so you could see the changes in him, but decided to finish this bit instead, so I’ll get to that next month.
For those joining late:
Yhonshel is a Tuanae, both wizard and warder. He is a captain, one of the three seconds in command at the garrison of the academy, and he is also a Master wizard and one of the three deputy headmasters at the academy. He’s quiet and gentle and soft-spoken but I don’t recommend ever making him truly angry.
Brythel is one of the cadets. He is timid and nervous and very unsure of himself. (One of the reasons I love Bry is that he probably grew and changed more than any other character I’ve ever written.)
The students were introduced to Yhonshel on their tour of the castle and he invited any of them who were interested in music to come find him during free time. Bry has taken him up on his offer.
Picking up from last week’s snippet:
“Is that magic?” Brythel asked. “What you did with the chairs and the lute?”
“It is indeed,” Yhonshel smiled. “Levitation spells.”
Brythel nodded, his mind whirling.
“What are you thinking?” Yhonshel asked gently.
Brythel flushed. “I just… I never thought magic was useful.”
Yhonshel’s laugh was warm. “I always forget what it was like, not knowing about magic.” He smiled and stroked the strings of his lute and Brythel flushed again, fumbling his instrument out of its wrappings.
“Bryth? What are you afraid of?”
He looked up and the warmth and caring in the murky grey-green eyes made his throat close up for a moment. “Nothing,” he said defensively, then his shoulders slumped. “Everything,” he said, his voice full of misery. “I – I’m not supposed to have this,” he said, touching his lute. “It… My stepfather, he…He doesn’t approve of music and he… he burned everything he could find of my father’s but I hid this and some papers… music. My mother said once that they were music but I didn’t understand – I don’t understand.”
“You will,” Yhonshel assured him with a soft smile. “You’ll learn to read music and…”
“And what?” Brythel asked, then flinched away, flushing at his boldness in asking, fully expecting to be hit for the question.
“And so much more than you can even begin to grasp,” Yhonshel replied. He held the boy’s gaze for a long moment. “You are very special, Bryth. Never forget that.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
Yhonshel smiled and touched the back of his neck lightly, his smile deepening as the boy relaxed at his touch. “Play for me.”
Novel Notes 
Brythel is so sweet in his shyness and Yhonshel’s response to this is equally sweet (heart)
It’s becoming easier to understand why Brythel is so skittish at this stage. ❤️
At the beginning of the book you see him with his stepfather so it’s pretty clear from the beginning. (Being bullied by his cousins doesn’t help either.)
I can’t wait to show you all Bry when he’s older and more confident.
Poor Brythel, I’m glad he’s able to enjoy playing despite the stepfather.
Aw! So sweet.
My heart just melts for Brythel here, this is such a beautiful scene and so heartbreaking to learn all he’s been through but I love the growing hope that things are going to get better for him and I’m so eager to see all that play out. heart.
There’s a tenderness to this, to Yhonshel’s encouraging words.
Poor guy, to lose so much. At least he was able to save some.
So sweet.