shown. No doubt the Ones wished that the entire discipline not be given away for fear that the Tome and the two Scrolls-the relics from which all this new information was so recently gleaned-had simultaneously fallen into the wrong hands. The information is sparse, and because the Tome and the two Scrolls were its originating source, it is aeons old. Because so much time has passed since the writing of the Tome and the two Scrolls, there is simply no telling how much farther the Ones have advanced the craft. Despite what we consider to be the treatise’s supreme complexity, for the Ones it might be little more than some schoolchild’s lesson. It was written in a complicated dialect of Old Eutracian that we have yet to completely decipher. But we have learned enough to know that it was a short discourse in several uses of subtle matter.”
“And because the subtle matter swirled its way into that jar, whatever hasn’t already been learned is lost forever,” Traax lamented.
Aeolus let go a soft cackle. “You’re forgetting something, my winged friend,” he said. “True, the message that the subtle matter briefly formed has been disassembled and transferred to that jar. But Faegan read it first! And in its entirety, I might add! Remember, he commands the gift of Consummate Recollection. The message is gone, but it will never be forgotten. Because of its highly important nature, Faegan recorded the entire treatise on parchment. He has done the same with the formulas and with the map of the territories west of the Tolenkas. Each document rests safe under lock and key in the Archives. Along with the Tome and the two Scrolls of the Ancients, I daresay that they rank among the Redoubt’s greatest treasures.”
Impressed, Traax glanced at Faegan. The crippled wizard’s only response was to smile and bounce his bushy eyebrows up and down.
“I’m confused,” Abbey said. “How can subtle matter help us to cross the Azure Sea?”
Cackling again, Faegan jabbed a bony index finger into the air. “How indeed?” he asked. “Allow me to perform a brief demonstration.”
Looking around the room, Faegan spied an unlit oil lamp resting on a nearby bookshelf. With a wave of his hand the lamp lifted into the air and came to land atop the meeting table. Then he commanded the jar full of subtle matter to slide toward him.
Faegan pointed his index finger at the wax seal. It soon disappeared, leaving the jar open at the top. Beckoning with the same finger, he caused some of the microscopic bits to leave the jar and float into the air. The individual particles were so tiny and few that had they not twinkled, the Conclave members would not have seen them. Faegan moved his finger again, causing the tiny particles to hover directly over the oil lamp. He placed his hands flat on the tabletop.
“Observe,” he said quietly. The wizard closed his eyes and called on one of the spells found in the treatise.
Tristan watched as the twinkling bits of dust descended toward the oil lamp. At first nothing happened. Then the twinkling stopped and the entire lamp started to glow. Tense seconds passed. Tristan’s mouth soon fell open with astonishment.
The oil lamp was shrinking.
Smaller and smaller it became until it was no larger than a thimble. As the lamp stopped glowing, a hush fell over the room.
His mouth still agape, Tristan looked first at Faegan, then at Shailiha. Faegan only smiled. The stunned look on Shailiha’s face mirrored her brother’s.
Tristan finally found his voice. “I beg the Afterlife…” he breathed.
“Oh, this has little to do with the Afterlife,” Faegan exclaimed, laughing.
Lacing his fingers together, Wigg leaned nearer. “Faegan is right,” he said softly. “The act of the craft that you just saw was true miniaturization. We mystics have long thought it possible, but until now it was quite beyond our knowledge.”
“Is the oil lamp the same in every respect save for its size?” Tyranny asked. She was still so amazed that she could barely speak.
“Yes,” Aeolus answered, “except for its weight. That property is now also reduced to a level commensurate with the lamp’s new size.”
As though still unable to believe, Shailiha leaned forward to touch the shrunken lamp. As she did, Faegan gave Tristan a knowing wink. Just as Shailiha’s fingertip touched the lamp, Faegan used the craft to set the lamp’s tiny wick alight. Jumping back, Shailiha let go a little shriek. As the other Conclave members laughed, Shailiha’s face reddened briefly.
Faegan reached out to pat her hand. “I’m sorry, Princess,” he said, “but I just couldn’t resist. As Aeolus said, save for its reduced weight and size, the lamp is the same in every respect.” He gave her a quick wink. “It can even produce light.”
Tristan’s thoughts soon returned to Abbey’s earlier question. He looked over at the First Wizard. “This is all very interesting, but how does it help us to cross the Azure Sea?” he asked.
Faegan gave him a little smile. “Can’t you guess?” he asked.
Tristan shook his head. He clearly remembered the Azure Sea. It was a vast, beautiful, and most likely very dangerous place. I can imagine only one way to cross it, he thought. But we can’t do that because… Suddenly understanding, he looked at Faegan as if the wizard had just gone mad.
“You must be joking,” he whispered.
“Oh?” Wigg countered. “And why is that?”
“You can’t do it, that’s all!” Tristan protested. “It would never work!”
“And just why not?” Aeolus countered. “After all, you saw what happened to the lamp.”
“But to shrink them to such a small size-could it really be done?” Tristan asked.
“Perhaps,” Jessamay said. “But the process wouldn’t be without its problems, nor would the ensuing journey.”
“What are you talking about?” Tyranny demanded.
Shaking his head, Tristan gave the Conclave privateer a look that said he was still stunned. “They mean to shrink the Black Ships to a size that can be carried into the Caves of the Paragon,” he said, hardly believing his own words. “We would then transport them to the shore of the Azure Sea-presuming that we can find it again. The vessels would be placed onto the water and set adrift. From there I can only guess that more subtle matter would be used to restore them to their original size.”
He turned to glare at Wigg. “Could such a thing really work?”
“Perhaps,” Wigg answered. “Unless we try, we might never reach Shashida. Remember, the Tolenkas cannot be crossed-even by the Ones and thePon Q’tar. Sailing north or south on the Sea of Whispers will only bring us up against dangerous ice packs. We know-it was tried many times during the Sorceresses’ War while attempting to outflank the Coven’s forces. We could fly the ships over the ice, but for how long? That too has been tried without success. Worse yet, going in either of those directions might take us farther away from Shashida rather than toward it. Of even greater importance is the message formed by the subtle matter. ‘To reach Shashida you must first cross the Azure Sea.’ It seems that we might have found a way after all.”
Wigg again raised an eyebrow. “Unless you know more about this than the Ones, and you can imagine a better way to do the same thing,” he added drily.
Tristan let go a deep breath and sat back in his chair. He still couldn’t believe that he and his fellow Conclave members were sitting around a table and talking about such a bizarre thing. As the notion settled in, he looked back at Wigg.
“How would we proceed?” he asked.
“First let me show you something else,” Faegan said. The wizard closed his eyes. A few more subtle matter bits freed themselves from the jar to land atop the lamp. Soon the shrunken lamp glowed again. Then it started to grow. On reaching its original size, it stopped. The lamp was again itself in every respect. Even its restored wick was still alight.
Faegan sat back in his chair. “We had to know whether the process could be reversed. As you have just seen, that is the case. But major hurdles remain.”
“What hurdles?” Shailiha asked.
“Many, I’m afraid,” Aeolus answered. “First, our supply of subtle matter is finite and we have no way to produce more. We do not yet know whether there is enough to do the job. We cannot use more than one-fourth of it to shrink the four ships.”
