“It always seems easier to do nothing, when the harm is done elsewhere,” Dakon said. “They know their young ones will either learn a lesson and limp home – or die and stop being a problem – or prove successful. The worst that could happen is a bit of a diplomatic hiccup in history.”
“Are the youngsters right?” Narvelan asked, though more to himself than to Dakon. “Are we as weak as they think we are? Would we win or lose such a war?”
Dakon considered. “The king’s war masters would know better than we do.” He looked at the young man. “But your friends are already trying to find out for themselves, aren’t they?”
Narvelan grinned. “Trying to. There is one more question to be answered, though. One as important as those two. “
“Yes?”
“Would we unite against them?”
“Of course. We managed it a few centuries ago, in order to force the emperor to grant us independence.”
“But how long would it take? What would it take? How much land could the Sachakans overrun before the city magicians decided it was time to act? One ley? Two or three?”
“Only if the Sachakans moved quickly.”
Narvelan shook his head. “You don’t know the city magicians as I do. They fear confrontation far more than they care for some remote leys at the edge of the country.” He looked towards the window and frowned. “We are close to the main pass – you closer than me. Even if you are right, our land and people will still be the first to go.”
Dakon felt his skin chill, as if he had been sitting outside and a cloud had just blocked the sunlight. He could not argue against what Narvelan said. He could only hope that the Sachakans never managed to convince themselves Kyralia was worth invading, or that their attempts to organise and form alliances failed.
And if my hopes are in vain, that I can evacuate the villages of Aylen ley in time, and get my people to safety. Surely Narvelan is wrong about the city magicians. Beside, such decisions are not theirs to make.
“The king would not allow the city magicians to delay,” he said, feeling his mood lighten a fraction. “He won’t want to lose one handful of his land to Sachaka, let alone a few leys.”
Narvelan looked at him and nodded. “I hope you are right. I think... and our circle of friends believe... that we can better our chances. That the king is more likely to act promptly if he has met and reassured us he will. He should know the people most in danger if such a crisis should occur. People like you. It’s much harder to let people die if you’ve met and liked them, and promised to help them.”
“You want me to meet the king?” Dakon exclaimed. He laughed. “Why would he agree to meet me? I doubt he’ll do so just to ease my mind. More likely he’ll think I’m a nervous rassook jumping at every suggestion of a threat and most likely inventing half of them.”
“He won’t,” Narvelan said, with a shrug and a glint of amusement in his eye. “Not with your reputation. And once he meets you, he’ll know you’re not easily frightened.”
“Reputation?” Dakon stared at the young man. “What reputation?”
Narvelan’s gaze began to roam around the room. “Is it too early for wine, do you think?”
“Only for those who mention a man’s reputation and fail to supply the details.”
The young man grinned. “Is that a bribe or a punishment?”
“That depends entirely on how it affects my reputation.”
Narvelan laughed. “Very well. We’ve made sure you’re known as a sturdy sort of man who is unimpressed by frivolity. Which is why you have no wife – or so the assorted wives and daughters of our circle of friends have concluded.”
Dakon opened his mouth, then closed it again. “I do hope this reputation you have arranged for me will not prevent my marrying at some point in the future.”
The young magician smiled. “I’m sure it won’t.” Abruptly his eyes widened and he laughed. “You can tell people your reason for visiting the city was to find a wife. That would provide plenty of distraction from—”
“No,” Dakon said firmly.
“Why not? We magicians often marry late, but you’re leaving it a bit later than most.”
“It’s not a matter of leaving it,” Dakon said, shrugging. “Or of meeting appropriate women. While I have met women I would have liked to marry – and the feeling was reciprocated more than once – I have not yet met a woman who liked the idea enough to leave the city and her friends and family, and live in Mandryn. You haven’t discovered this for yourself, having married before you moved here. Young women of the country are desperate to move to the city, and those in the city are not keen to leave it. Your idea is hardly going to cause the distraction you hope for. They’re more likely to make a point of ignoring me.”
“Oh.” Narvelan looked disappointed. “Now that you mention it, Celia does often complain about how boring it is in the country.”
“I travel to the city every year to visit friends and deal with trade issues. There is no need for anyone to suspect another agenda.”
Narvelan nodded. “So, when do you think you’ll leave?”
“Not for a few weeks.” As the young magician opened his mouth to protest, Dakon raised a hand to stall him. “Something else happened this last week. I have a new apprentice.”
“Ah. An apprentice. I suppose I shall have to think about taking one on soon. Should I approach a likely family? Is that how you found yours?”
“No, this one is special. A natural.”
Understanding entered the magician’s gaze. “A natural! How exciting!”
“It certainly has been.”
Narvelan nodded. “You are stuck here. You can’t leave him behind untrained and taking him with you would be unfair on the people you stayed with. So, will I get to meet him?”
“You’ll get to meet her at dinner, if you are planning to stay.”
“Her?” Narvelan’s eyebrows rose. “Yes. My healer’s daughter.”
“Well then, I’m definitely going to stay for dinner.”
“Hopefully it will be her charming personality that provides the entertainment, not a stray bit of magic. I don’t mind having to repair and redecorate one of the seating rooms, but the dining room could be a touch expensive.”
Narvelan’s eyes widened. “Repair a seating room?”
“Yes. The signs of her first use of magic are rather hard to miss.”
“Can you show me, or has the work already been done?”
Dakon smiled. “Not completely. It’s still fairly impressive. I’ll show you later tonight.”
CHAPTER 8
While most people say the law allows magicians to do whatever they like, the truth is we are still restricted in what we can do,” Lord Dakon said.
Tessia watched him pace the library, as he usually did when lecturing. Her lessons for the last few weeks had consisted of short attempts at control, much like her first lesson, and these longer ones in which he taught her about the laws of Kyralia, some history which she had already learned from her father but was interested to hear from the perspective of magicians, and how her learning would be structured over the years to come. He often diverged from the chosen subject, moving into Sachakan culture and politics, or telling her about trading his ley’s goods with other landowners in the country or the city, and the convoluted world of Kyralia’s most powerful families.
“The first restriction is that nothing we do harms Kyralia,” he continued. “Now, what is harmful and what is not can be subjective. Building a dam may solve water storage problems, but it also floods land above it and restricts how much water flows below it. A mine, kiln or forge upstream may bring prosperity there, but it may foul the water and poison fish, crops, livestock and people downstream.” Dakon stopped pacing to regard her.
“Ultimately the king decides what is classed as harmful. But before the matter can be brought to his attention, a long and formal process must be carried out and mediation between the complainant and the magician attempted. Without this
process he would face an impossible number of cases to decide.” He grimaced. “I won’t go into detail on the process right now, or we’ll be stuck on the subject for the rest of the afternoon. Do you have any questions?”
Tessia was ready for the enquiry. If she didn’t ask questions, Dakon would lecture her on how necessary it was for her to do so. No question was too silly or irrelevant, he had assured her.
But Apprentice Jayan clearly didn’t agree. Whenever she had lessons with him in the afternoon to make up for being called out to help her father in the morning – fortunately only three times so far – she would return cheerful only to spend an uncomfortable afternoon conscious of Jayan’s half-hidden snickers, sighs and disdainful looks.
It made her reluctant to ask questions, and determined to only ask ones that didn’t sound foolish.
“The king is a magician,” she said. “Does he face the same restrictions? Who decides whether what he does is harmful or not?”
Dakon smiled. “He is, indeed, a magician and he does face the same restrictions. If he is ever accused of harming his kingdom, the lords of Kyralia must decide if the accusation is correct – and we must all agree, if action is to be taken.”
“What action would you take?”
“Whatever is appropriate for the crime, I imagine. There is no set action or punishment scribed in law.”
“The king isn’t a strong magician, is he?”
She heard a snort from where Jayan was sitting, but resisted turning to look at him.
“That is a rumour and is incorrect,” Dakon said. “A magician’s natural ability may be small or large, but that is irrelevant once higher magic is learned. Then his or her strength is based entirely on how much magic has been taken from apprentices. Of course, a magician may choose to not have an apprentice and to rely entirely on natural strength – not every magician has the time or inclination to teach. The king does not have time to train apprentices because his prime responsibility is the state of the country. He is allowed to receive magic given by other magicians – usually from a small group of loyal friends, sometimes as payment for a debt or favour.”
Tessia considered this quietly. Sometimes the city sounded like a completely different world rather than the capital of her country.
A soft cough from Jayan caught Dakon’s attention. He smiled crookedly. “I will tell you more another time. Now, I think we’ve covered enough law and history. It is time we tested your control again. No, stay where you are.”
She stopped, having half risen from her seat. “We’re not going out into the fields?”
He nodded. “You are past the most dangerous stage, I think. Can you recall using magic unintentionally at all in the last week?”
She thought back, then shook her head.
“Good. Now, let’s get into a more comfortable position.”
He took a seat beside her, and the two of them turned their chairs so they faced each other. She could see Jayan now, sitting in the corner of the room. He was watching them, his brow creased by a faint frown.
She held out her hands to Lord Dakon. As the magician took them in a light grip, she closed her eyes. Then she opened them again, looking at Jayan, and caught an undisguised curl to his lips – a sneer of disdain or displeasure that was quickly hidden. She felt a stab of dismay, followed by curiosity.
He really doesn’t like me, she thought. I wonder why.
Possible reasons ran through her mind, upsetting her ability to calm it and focus. Was it her humbler upbringing? Was it because she was a woman? Did she have some habit that disgusted or irritated him?
Or, she suddenly thought, was it resentment? Had he lost something when she had become Dakon’s apprentice? Status? No, her presence here wouldn’t prevent him from becoming a magician or endanger any connections or influence he or his family had.
Whatever it was, it must concern Dakon. The magician was the only person in Mandryn that Jayan might want something from. Then a solution finally dawned on Tessia. Dakon did not have children. She had assumed that if he never did, the ley would go to another relative, as had been the case for Narvelan’s predecessor, Lord Gempel. But maybe apprentices could inherit leys.
Even so, surely Jayan, being older and from good bloodlines, would be chosen over her. The possibility that she could inherit a ley was so strange and ridiculous, she almost laughed aloud. That can’t be it, she thought. It must be something else.
She would have to think about it later. For now all she could do was ignore him. Though not if he was openly obnoxious, she decided. Then she would stand up to him. After all, she had faced a Sachakan magician. She had dealt with grown men made difficult by pain and sickness. No mere Kyralian apprentice was going to cow her.
That decided, she was able to clear her thoughts and concentrate on Dakon’s control lesson. As always, she visualised a box and nervously opened it. Inside lay her power, a swirling, bright ball of light. She touched it, held it in her hand, even gave it a squeeze, then put it back and closed the lid.
When she opened her eyes, Dakon sat back and smiled at her. Then he stood up, walked to a shelf and took down a heavy stone bowl that had been wedged between two rows of books. He put it on the floor in front of her, then tore up a scrap of paper and dropped it into the bowl.
“Look at the paper,” he told her. “I want you to remember what it felt like to hold your power. Then I want you to take a tiny bit of it – just a pinch – and direct it at the paper. At the same time, think about heat. Think about fire.”
This was nothing like the lessons she’d had before. She looked at him questioningly, but he just nodded at the bowl.
Taking a deep breath, she leaned forward and stared at the paper. She recalled how it had felt to hold and squeeze her magic. The sensation was still there, even though she had her eyes open.
It was not unlike the feeling she had experienced when her magic loosed itself without her meaning it but... not as slippery.
She dared not blink.
Still staring at the stone vessel, she plucked at the magic she sensed and felt it respond. Scared that if she waited too long the bit of magic she had taken would slip from her grasp, she directed it towards the torn paper.
Her forehead burned as the air before her suddenly grew hot.
The vessel slid away from her a few strides, then flames began to flicker from within.
“You did it!” Dakon exclaimed. His tone was half surprised, half pleased. “I thought you might be ready.”
“So she has.”
Tessia jumped as she realised Jayan was standing beside her chair, peering over her shoulder at the burning paper. The smell of smoke stung her nose. Jayan grimaced and made a small gesture with one finger.
Looking back at the bowl, she saw that the smoke was now contained within it by an invisible shield. After a few moments the flames shrank and disappeared. She felt a vague disappointment as the result of her first controlled use of magic was extinguished.
Dakon, she noted, was looking at Jayan with a thoughtful expression. The young apprentice shrugged and walked back to his seat, picking up the book he had been reading. Dakon said nothing and turned back to Tessia.
“So, I think I can officially say you have gained control of your power, Tessia,” he said. “We need not fear any further destruction, though I must say the room we had to refurnish is looking a lot better than it did before.”
She felt her face warm and looked away. “What happens now?”
“We celebrate,” he told her. Across the room a small gong set within an alcove in the wall rang. “After all, I’ve never heard of any magician gaining control in just two weeks. I took three. Jayan took four.”
“Three and a half,” Jayan corrected, not looking up from his book. “And we lost three days when Lord Gempel dropped in for a chat and decided to hang around and deplete your wine store.”
Dakon chuckled. “He was old. How could I deny him a rest and a little company now and then?”
Jayan didn’t answer. At a tap on the door, Dakon turned to look at it. Tessia noted the way his gaze intensified as he used magic. The door swung open. Cannia stepped into the room.
“Bring us a bottle of wine, Cannia. A good one, too. Now that Tessia’s control lessons are over she had best start learning something all respectable Kyralians must know: which of our wines are better than others.”
As the servant smiled and left, Tessia drew her attention back to her own magic. This new awareness she had of something within her, discovered during her first lessons and reinforced by numerous exercises, reminded her of something. Then she remembered how she had become acutely conscious of the position and rhythms of her heart and lungs after her father had shown her sketches of those organs within a body and started teaching her about them.
But her magic was different. She did not need to be in control of her heart and lungs. She could forget about them and trust that they kept working. Though Dakon had assured her she would eventually stop noticing that she was exerting control over her power, that control must always remain.
Now, for the first time, the prospect no longer scared her.
Jayan yawned as he crossed the yard to the stables. The grass in the surrounding fields was white with frost, and his breath misted in the air. As the cold penetrated his clothes he created a shield about himself and warmed the air within it.
Magic could do something about the cold, but it couldn’t fix the early hour. Why had Dakon sent for him? Malia hadn’t been able or willing to tell him anything except that he’d find Dakon in the stables.
A man leading a roan horse emerged from the blackness behind the open stable door and Jayan felt his mood darken further. Dakon had given Hanara a job in the stables, which Jayan had to admit was a wise move. It kept the former slave out of the house but not out of sight. But it did mean Jayan had to deal with the man whenever he wanted or needed to go for a ride.
Hanara kept his eyes to the ground, his shoulders hunched. The apparent meekness only made Jayan more uneasy.
“For you, master,” the man said.