"Awwww." 

"And he thought it was obvious he'd try to be a King if he could, since then he could fix things, and he didn't like lying, and he wanted to live forever... it bothered him, that I lied to people, while we were travelling through Predain. I didn't think it bothered you but I didn't know."

He reaches for her hand. "It - would bother me, I think, on the native level, it would be– nevermind, it does not bother me now. I think it is unhelpful to be upset by other people's successful strategies for survival, and so it did not bother me, but - I do think that situations that incentivize people to lie in order to survive are much higher-effort for me to work with, and - to the extent that I can assess such things for other people, worse for the general flourishing of all sentient minds." 

"I'm not going to have hurt feelings! I can try to do it less, it'd just be - a bit scary."

He hugs her. "There are many things that would scare me too, that I would consider doing anyway but have not done yet. I - Aroden thinks that Ma'ar - that my young self - would not have survived for long in Cheliax, unless there had been an opportunity to escape, and sometimes there is not. And you survived, empirically. It does not bother me for you to execute strategies that work - I think it would disturb me if you lied to me, in particular, but I try to provide an incentive gradient to you where that would not be rewarded, and separately I - I love you, and care for you, and I want to help you be safe and achieve your goals. Which is easier if I know the true considerations." 

"I don't lie to you, that'd be stupid. I guess I - shape myself for you? And for Iomedae? But - a shape I want to be, I checked in advance."

"This is still a digression from talking about Ma'ar, but - what would you do if there were a conflict between the shape you would be for me, and the shape you would be for Iomedae?" 

"- seems kind of unlikely? I think it'd depend on what exactly it was about, like, I dunno, if circumstances changed and we needed to murder lots of people and Iomedae couldn't be with us on that because she's Good I'd be with you obviously -"

"Huh." Leareth isn't sure if he's surprised or the opposite of surprised; either way he's - some variant of pleased, and unsure if that's the principled way to feel, and he sets it aside for later. "Those sound like mostly the same things I noticed about Ma'ar, that seem like me. I think we should pay close attention during the coming months and years, and - ask him, what he thinks he needs to grow; I think that mes past a certain stage of development will generally be able to answer that question better from their inside view than we can from our outside view." 

Nod. "Well. I guess it'll be a good trial run at parenting a teenager. He's almost the age when Queen Abrogail Thrune assassinated her uncle, you know."

"Really. Goodness, I had not realized she was so young - though I suppose people vary, in how young-in-practice they are after a given number of years." 

"And in - the age of majority in Cheliax is younger than most other places, I'd expect people grow up faster when they expect they're actually going to get to be an adult soon."

"You know, I still have no idea what the age of majority was considered to be in Tantara. I do not think I considered it very relevant, at the time." 

"In Lastwall it's twenty, which seemed outrageous to me. Andoran copied them. In Osirion women are never really legally adults but they can't marry until 19 without a special waiver. Absalom doesn't bother with the concept. I think it - doesn't matter so much if you're going to be a caster."

“Because being a caster depends on a certain minimum intelligence and discipline, which are the traits that the age of majority is intending to measure anyway? Or because of - power differentials and things related to that?”

"Kind of both? No one's going to ask a third-circle wizard if they're old enough to get to do things, because if they're a third-circle wizard, they are, and they don't need protecting from whatever you wanted to protect them from."

Nod. “I do not actually predict we will prevent Ma'ar from doing anything we ought let him do because he is too young, but I suppose it is worth keeping in mind." 

"Aroden and Iomedae might also have reads on - whether he has everything he needs. He talked to them."

"Good for him." Leareth nods. "I had thought to speak to Aroden about him, at some point. - How did it seem to affect him?" 

"He wanted a hug and to know the plan to educate him. I think he's all right."

"I expect Aroden was - not gentle with him, about the difficulties we face; and it is my inclination also, not to account much for his age and youth when I speak with him. That is one of the reasons why I am not worried that he will lack for challenges that will push him to grow." 

Nod. "Are there - difficulties I should know about. They've certainly had time to come up."

Leareth thinks. "I am not sure how well I can remember the challenges I faced at that age. I know that for me now, trust is difficult and concealing information is my default, even if I do not generally lie outright. I am unsure how much that was also true of me at Ma'ar's age, but it is something I would watch out for - it might not occur to him to tell us about what he is finding hard." 

"Are you going to read his mind?"

"Honestly, he already shields well enough that it would be difficult for me to do so with Velgarth magic - Aroden could have done it, but... Anyway, it seems simplest at this point to just ask him. I do not think he would lie to us."