Lio

Overview

Lio is an avout (monastic scholar) peer of Fraa Erasmas, traveling extramuros (outside the walls) with a Peregrin (sanctioned travel) company under Evocation (formal summons). On the approach to Bly's Butte he balances security-minded pragmatism with dry humor and steady loyalty to companions. Earlier accounts associate him with the New Circle (scholarly order) and note strong proficiency in Vale-Lore (martial training and tactics). Later, Erasmas recalls relying on Lio's practical vlor (Vale-Lore shorthand) guidance during a mob attack in Old Mahsht and sends a letter for Lio with Ringing Vale avout headed toward Tredegarh.

Appearance and Traits

• Solid, agile, and comfortable with non-lethal techniques; acts quickly without needless escalation.
• Skeptical and evidence-first in outlook; engages readily in theorical debate while keeping proposals inside practical limits.
• Devotion to Vale-Lore: Erasmas describes Lio as having "worshipped all things Vale" since before Collection, tracking down every work at Saunt Edhar about the Vale or by those who claimed to have trained with Valers. He prizes composure and would, in Erasmas's view, expect stoicism in the presence of Valers.

Roles and Actions

• Summit hike and reconnaissance: Ascends the road and a shortcut toward the top of Bly's Butte with Erasmas and Fraa Criscan, scouting structures and later finding signs of an avout-style cell apparently used by Orolo.
• Theorics on the climb: Contributes to an animated exchange about the usual two-box diagram for the Hylaean Theoric World (abstract realm of forms) and the idea sometimes called Complex Protism (a conjecture about perception); frames the arrow as a flow of information into the causal domain.
• Background on Estemard: Shares findings that Estemard worked intricate tiles, pursued a classical tiling problem known as the Teglon, and drew rumor-laden attention tied to a so-called Lineage (intellectual tradition); Lio treats the topic cautiously.
• Brief confrontation at the cell: When a man bursts in, Lio takes him down quickly and secures his sidearm; after the situation settles he removes the magazine and returns weapon and ammunition separately.
• Securing notes: Assists Fraa Jad in gathering working leaves and phototypes from Orolo's cell so they can be burned.
• Descent: At Jad's instruction he rides down last with Erasmas in a local driver's fetch (small local vehicle) to join the picnic forming on the village green.
• Aftermath in the Saecular world: In a crowded drummon (fuel station mess) outside Norslof, Erasmas remarks missing Lio's knack for assessing risks and thinking through countermeasures.
• Capability check: In a recalled planning exchange, Lio cautions that certain disabling field arrays are beyond the company's current praxis, tempering speculative proposals with practical limits.
• Apert memory: Erasmas remembers Lio being "defeated at Apert" when slines (ordinary outsiders) pulled his bolt (avout garment) over his head.
• Grappling guidance recalled: During a later street assault in Old Mahsht, Erasmas reports following Lio's advice for escaping after being mounted, crediting that training with getting free.
• Correspondence: Erasmas entrusts a letter for Lio to a Ringing Vale fraa traveling toward Tredegarh, to be delivered through monastic channels.

Relationships

• Erasmas: Close companion who states he trusts Lio with his life; Erasmas later credits Lio's vlor instruction during a street assault and sends a letter for Lio via Ringing Vale couriers.
• Fraa Jad: Elder whose directives Lio follows; he helps by collecting and handing over sensitive leaves.
• Estemard: Subject of Lio's prior digging; Lio neutralizes him during a brief encounter and returns the sidearm without further incident.
• Orolo: Focus of the search; Lio helps safeguard Orolo's working materials under Jad's direction.

Current Status

After the village picnic at the foot of Bly's Butte, Erasmas departs north with others; Lio is not part of that northbound group. Later, Erasmas addresses a letter to Lio for delivery at Tredegarh via Ringing Vale avout; this suggests Lio is expected to be reachable there, though it is presented as a practical way to pass news rather than a formal report of Lio's location.

Notes

• Later reference: At Orithena, Erasmas mentions that Fraa Jad accompanied him, Arsibalt, and Lio to Bly's Butte, restating Lio's presence in that detour without adding new details about his actions there.