I Got Invited to a Lecture About Myself and I Wasn’t Even the Speaker

Rei was halfway through preparing a new blend—lavender, starleaf, and just a hint of mossfire root—when Auron burst through the front door holding a rolled parchment nearly as tall as himself.

"Master!" he gasped. "They're doing it again!"

Rei didn't even look up. "Doing what?"

"Talking about you. In town. At the Tamer's Institute. A whole lecture."

Rei paused. "About me?"

"Yes! It's titled: 'The Still Tamer: Passive Authority and Silent Subjugation in Modern Beastcraft.'"

Rei turned very slowly. "What does that even mean?"

"I think they're trying to figure out how you command loyalty from apex beasts while being aggressively non-threatening."

"I give them tea."

"Exactly! And they find that terrifying."

---

A letter arrived that same afternoon.

Sealed with the sigil of the Orenth Tamer's Guild, it was short and too polite.

> Esteemed Keeper of the Compact,

You are cordially invited to observe the upcoming lecture hosted by the Guild regarding recent developments in non-traditional taming phenomena. Your presence, though not required, would be greatly valued—if only to verify some of the more… unconventional theories.

Signed,

Master Vellor, Guild Curator of Education

Rei read it twice.

Then held it out to Ellyn.

She laughed for a full minute.

---

The Guild lecture hall was a tiered marble building with ivy around the archways and at least three golden statues of heroic beast tamers in dramatic poses.

Rei felt underdressed in his loose tunic and tea-stained sleeves.

Fluff rode on his shoulder, perfectly composed.

Ellyn accompanied him with a satchel full of promotional flyers for Fluff Co. snacks "just in case this counts as outreach."

Inside, the hall buzzed with conversation.

Rei caught bits and pieces.

"—claimed he pacified a cursed leviathan with poetry—"

"—refuses to register a battle rank—"

"—apparently his bunny eats shadows—"

"I do not eat shadows," Fluff muttered under his breath.

---

The lecturer was a middle-aged man with intense eyes and far too much chalk on his robes.

He tapped a pointer against a series of glowing diagrams.

"This," he declared, "is the behavioral map of the Western Fang Drake—known to be territorial, aggressive, and immune to sonic influence."

He clicked to the next slide.

"And this... is the same beast after three weeks near the sanctuary known as Fluff Co."

The drake was lounging in a pond surrounded by ducks.

"Note the reduced aggression. Elevated nest-building behavior. And—remarkably—its diet now includes sugared bark."

The crowd murmured.

A hand went up. "How is he doing this?"

The lecturer pointed to a glowing outline of Rei labeled 'Subject Still.'

"Some say it is divine charisma," the lecturer said. "Others claim he uses undetectable contracts."

"Or emotional resonance magic," another scholar offered.

"No. We believe it is something deeper," the lecturer continued. "He creates an emotional sanctuary. A place where beasts do not feel the need to dominate or obey. They simply... rest."

Another hand raised. "But isn't that more dangerous?"

"Precisely. He has no control. Only trust."

Rei muttered, "That's just tea and quiet."

The entire row in front of him turned and gasped.

"It's him!"

"Oh stars, I thought he'd be taller."

"Look, the bunny is yawning! That means it's real!"

Rei stood up.

He walked out.

Fluff remained on his shoulder, smug.

Back at the shop, Rei sank into his garden bench and stared at the stars.

"I didn't ask for this."

Ellyn sat beside him. "I know."

"They're making up philosophies. Lectures. Diagrams."

"Because what you're doing doesn't fit their mold. And that scares them."

Rei was quiet a moment.

Then said, "Maybe it should."

Fluff climbed into his lap.

Auron appeared at the edge of the porch with wide eyes.

"They want to name a principle after you."

Rei groaned.

"They call it the Still Hearth Effect."

Later that night, Rei found the letter again.

He reread the phrase:

> Your presence, though not required, would be greatly valued.

And for a moment, he wondered how many creatures, how many people, how many watchers of the world—valued his quiet presence.

And how long it would stay that way.

Because even the stillest hearth casts light.

And light always draws attention.