Summary:The Rithmatist

This page contains a chapter by chapter summary of The Rithmatist. We hope this summary will make it easier to find specific areas of the book, as well as providing a quick plot refresher for anyone who doesn't want to take the time to reread the entire book.

Prologue

Diagram of the Basic Easton Defense: [1]

Lilly -- a Rithmatics student of the Armedius Academy -- is hunted by a mysterious person that sends chalklings to attack her. She tries hard to defend herself, but disappears.

Part 1

Chapter 1

Diagram of the 4 Rithmatic Lines: [2]

Joel is sent to run errands for the office. He keeps the message for the Rithmatics professor Fitch for the last one and sneaks into Fitch's classroom. When Professor Nalizar shows up to challenge Professor Fitch Joel watches the duel and witnesses the loosing of Professor Fitch.

Chapter 2

Diagram of Two-Point and Four-Point circles: [3]

Joel comes back to the office after running his errands and watching the fight between Nalizar and Fitch. He tells the clerks that Fitch lost. That causes the clerks, Florence and Exton, to discuss about the necessity of such duels.

Because the summer holidays are coming, Joel needs to choose a summer elective. Florence prods him to do so and not miss it, for he would end up in a remedial tutelage if he does. He promises to do it in time.

Chapter 3

Diagram of Bind Points and Circles Advanced Notes [4]

After history class Joel has to do math. Joel likes mathematics as for geometry is the base for Rithmatics. The Rithmatic campus was set apart to the General campus though -- as in Joel's math class -- some of the Rithmatists had to join the ordinary classes because of lacking the basics.

When Professor Layton comes to check off last night's assignment, Joel is caught in not having done them. When Professor Layton dismisses the class he tells Joel to stay. Though Joel got perfect marks in the tests, Professor Layton isn't convinced about Joel's knowledge and Joel realizes that the professor thought him cheating. Joel supposes to do the assignment in these last few minutes of the class and begins to do. The professor thought somebody told Joel the answers and draws a new task on the board. Joel solves it quite instantly and points out that the drawings where not really accurate. He proves to be able to draw perfect lines and circles by eye and convinces Professor Layton that he already knew what was taught during this term, and also trigonometry and algebra. Finally the professor gives Joel the pass for geometry class.

Chapter 4

Diagram of the Ballintain Defense

Outside the classroom there's Melody waiting. She's one of the Rithmatic students in this math class. Joel finds her drawing unicorns. He is upset that she doesn't draw Rithmatic lines but she says she wants to spend time doing things that are not related to Rithmatics. Then she leaves him for her talk with Professor Layton.

Joel makes his way to a group of students where he heard about a Rithmatist student, Lilly Whiting, missing. Walking with Davis and Rose they see a federal inspector leave the Principal's office. As for a federal inspector has jurisdiction in all sixty islands it was unusual to see one on the campus. Also Principal York seemed to be troubled.

There is only one other student nearly in his age on the campus that is a child of a professor and not a Rithmatist himself, Davis. In previous years Joel and Davis spent summer holidays together at the campus. But Davis now tells Joel that he has the opportunity to spend holidays with the group that Michael takes with him, what is a great chance for Davis' future. When Joel seems disappointed, Davis reminds him that he is treated well by all the others. Joel has to admit this is right but he's not included by them, but barely tolerated.

When Davis and Rose leave to join Michael, Joel looks for a good place to read through Professor Fitch's books. Only when it grows too dark to read he thinks about supper and goes to the dining hall. His mother is already there. He takes himself something to eat and sits by his mother. She asks him about his summer elective and whether he's passing this year's classes. Then Joel asks his mother whether she has heard something about Lilly Whiting and, she told him it seems that she ran away. Joel stands, telling his mother he will be back in a few minutes.

Chapter 5

Joel takes the two books from Professor Fitch he still carries around and approaches Professor Fitch, who now has to sit at the end of the professors' table. Detected by the other professors and told to leave, Joel is surprised when Professor Fitch tells them that he asked him to come. Joel gives the books back and hands Professor Fitch his apply to be with his student for summer elective. Professor Fitch tells him that there are always young man trying to join Rithmatist classes but that this is not possible. Then he suggests Joel to study at another university which is more open to teach Rithmatic to non-Rithmatists too. But he doesn't take Joel for summer elective.

Chapter 6

That night Joel muses about another possibility to get assigned for summer elective to Professor Fitch. He decides to fail the history test, hoping that this will cause a summer elective with Professor Fitch about Rithmatic history. Doing so Joel is sent to the office. Principal York shows Joel that he's disappointed about his behavior and Joel admits that he failed the test on purpose. Though it's against traditions to assign non-Rithmatists to Rithmatic professors, Principal York remembered that he put Professor Fitch on a special project and he thinks it a good idea to give the professor a research assistant. That research assistant hasn't to be a Rithmatic student, and he assigned Joel for this job, given that Joel passes the history test. Joel runs back to the history class and does his test, finally being assigned to Professor Fitch for the summer elective, though Principal York told him to talk to him next time.

Part 2

Chapter 7

Next morning Joel makes his way to Professor Fitch who is surprised to get Joel as research assistant but thinks it a good idea. Joel immediately feels at home in Professor Fitch's office with all that Rithmatic lines and books everywhere.

Shortly after his arriving Professor Fitch's second student arrives: Melody. She has to do a remedial tutelage with Professor Fitch because she failed in the basics of Rithmatic lines. She's put to do tracings of Rithmatic diagrams while Joel has to look through census records to search for all Rithmatists who died in the last twenty years. Though he isn't glad for this he begins go work on this task. Melody rumbles about her task, musing that she can't even draw perfect circles when tracing. Joel comes to help her and shows her some freehand circles. She asks him whether he does her tracing for her and she looks into his files. Joel reminds her of Professor Fitch sitting nearby who, indeed, listens to the two of them. When this first day ends Joel is more curious than before.

Chapter 8

Diagram for the Sumsion Defense

Joel takes some food to Florence and Exton in an attempt to find out what is going on. He discovers that there is a belief that Lilly Whiting didn't disappear, but that she was murdered by a Rithmatist.

Chapter 9

Diagram for Osborn defense

Joel is researching and Melody is tracing. Professor Fitch assures her that only 2 students have been kicked out of the school for being too "bad" at Rithmatics,but Melody convinces him that she needs a break from tracing. Professor Fitch teaches her (and Joel who is listening in) about keening (or anticipating). Joel and Melody compete.

Chapter 10

Diagram of the Eskridge Defense

Joel finishes up work on the census records and takes them to Fitch at Warding Hall. Fitch is distracted when he arrives, showing little interest in the records. Fitch then tells Joel that another Rithmatist student has disappeared, Herman Libel. Joel talks Fitch into letting him help with the events. They go over the diagrams from Lilly's scene. Harding arrives and fills them in on Herman, while also providing more sketches.

Chapter 11

Diagrams from the scene of Lilly Whiting

Part 3

Chapter 21

Joel lies awake the night before his inception ceremony. He is attacked by chalklings. He figures out that the new rithmatic line sucks in sound, and he quickly sees a trap the Scribbler set. He avoids it, and runs to the office. Estin tries, poorly, to keep the chalklings at bay while Joel goes for help.