for weeks. In my own practice, I have misspun a charm but twice and the memories still give me a shudder. Not only are even the most simple charms difficult, but they must be mastered before a more complex one can be attempted. As one proceeds towards completion, each word somehow becomes more difficult to slide off the tongue, harder to remember. Indeed, the more complex and powerful spells create back pressures that cannot be comprehended by one who has not tried his mettle on hurdles more easily surmounted. And the greater the charm, the greater is the sickness and agony for failure. It takes a stout heart to attempt such castings, knowing the difficulty and the consequences of error. If anything is the mark of the sorcerer, it is possession of enormous bravery.'
'Then why not carry a grimoire as does the alchemist?' Alodar asked. 'Or have a library, like the magician guilds. Reading from a correct text to reduce the risks would seem easy enough.'
'Because,' Kelric responded, 'no written language or special symbology yet evolved can convey the precise nuances of tone which are essential for a successful charm. They are passed by word of mouth from unwilling teacher to foolish pupil, from generation to generation. It is the only way that the lore of sorcery is preserved. And far better it would be if the craft sank into decay, as has the practice of wizardry.'
Alodar frowned. 'Why do you always deprecate your craft, master Kelric?'
'Why? You ask why?' Kelric snorted. 'Is it not obvious? Oh, I was like you once, young and eager, lured by the promise of power, the respect of all with whom I dealt, the ability to control and mold the thoughts of others to my will.'
Kelric paused and closed his eyes for a moment, pulling the memories to the surface of his thoughts. 'And I succeeded,' he said, again looking Alodar in the eye. 'I learned quickly and discovered many new charms known to no others. I acquired the fame of masters many years my senior. But at the same time I lost what every sorcerer looses and can never regain… Today's battle is over. When you leave you will share a slap on the back and a few tall stories with your comrades in arms. You will relax in each other's presence, feeling warm in the glow of friendship and trust. But it would not be so if you were a sorcerer. What man then would talk with you over a cup of rum, or bet the bill on who is first to pinch the barmaid? And what woman would come willingly into your arms and look trustingly into your eyes as you murmured sweet nothings? You would be shunned by all and dealt with only by necessity. Only by spilling some of your vital forces would you see an occasional glimpse of soft thigh and at that you would judge yourself lucky. It takes bravery to be a sorcerer, I have said, and far more than what is required to cast the charms.'
The cabin was silent for a minute and Alodar looked at Aeriel, then darted his eyes away. 'My quest is for the hand of the queen,' he said. 'The embrace does not matter.'
He nodded slowly and touched the pouch with the sphere at his side. 'Let us return to the matter of instruction,' he said. 'If sorcery is taught by oral means only, how then do new charms ever come about? It would seem that the number would gradually diminish away as masters met untimely ends before they could pass on their heritage.'
'New charms are always in the making,' Kelric replied. 'The trances you see me slip into to aid my concentration in matters of prophecy are not only a crutch for an old man. No indeed, the trance is primarily the means by which the master frees his mind of the encumbrances of this existence. With it he opens up his inner self and seeks out the states where the cadences of charms roll like thunder and the words flash in strokes of lightning before the eyes. Upon return to the here and now, often the mind is exploding with the power of a new charm hitherto unknown to man.'
'Then why not effect such a state often,' Aeriel asked, 'and bring back great powers that can only accumulate with time?'
'Alas, my lady,' Kelric replied, 'it is as I have often said. Each charm enacted, even the trance of seeking, subtracts something of vital presence from the sorcerer who uses it. Each of us is born with a fixed supply of whatever is his for life; once we have used it all, we perish. And the leeching of inner power depends on the strength of the charm. I restrict myself now only to illusions for the court or simple prophecies of short range and even for those I need the aid of sand, fire, or cards. I dare not try to enchant a single person, no matter how shallow his mind, for fear of consuming all that remains.'
'Then why do you not have more interest in the eye?' Alodar interrupted. 'You said that it can amplify the powers that a sorcerer naturally possesses.'
'No, my pulse does not quicken as I think of the sphere,' Kelric said. 'I am so small a shadow of my prime that I dare not use such a device. It means nothing to me, though in the hands of a young man, a fool with no thought of the morrow, such an eye indeed increases the charm of enchantment a thousand fold.
'You see, despite the fear in which sorcerers are held, despite the way arms are flung over eyes when we approach, enchantment is not easily achieved. Remember that the charm must be recited thrice and eye-to-eye contact must be maintained throughout the third recital. It is not easily accomplished if the intended victim is on guard. And the more insidious enchantments are the hardest of all to effect. The complete extinction of consciousness is the easiest by far. You become the automaton of the sorcerer and think your own thoughts no more.
'But the more subtle enchantments in which some or most of your own free will and thoughts remain are very difficult. The charms are long, the restive forces great, and the drain on the vitality greater still. Yet, how sublime is that charm that gives you the heart of a lady and changes nothing else! She feels she acts of her own free will but the grip of enchantment binds her to you. It is this power which makes the sorcerer so feared.
'And such is the strength of the eye that it can give the master the potency the sagas ascribe to him. Gaze on it but an instant and you are undone. From the crushing of all free thought to the gentlest suggestion, it will be as the sorcerer wills it. And more besides; when the lid is open, the eye reaches out and compels, drawing you to look, tempting you, forcing you, conjuring you for just one little glance and then you are trapped forever.
'But enough for now,' Kelric concluded. 'It depresses me to think of it further. Tomorrow, if you still are steadfast in your foolishness, we will start with the cantrip for the tossed die.'
'I will be at your cabin door,' Alodar said. 'Your words have not dissuaded me.'
Kelric scowled and then looked at Aeriel. 'And now my lady, what are your plans for the next hour?'
'I must readjust some of the berth assignments,' Aeriel replied, waving to the littered chesttop, 'and then confer with the cooks to reaffirm that we are well enough provisioned.'
'Then I suppose the chance of your changing into something less practical while I am here is slight?' He leered.
'Oh, begone, Kelric,' Aeriel said, 'and try your persuasive manner on one of the other women of the court.'
'As my lady wishes.' With shoulders stooped the sorcerer shuffled out of the room.
Aeriel and Alodar remained in silence pondering Kelric's words for several minutes longer. Then she arose and turned up the wick of the single lamp hung on the cabin wall.
'You show great trust in me, Aeriel,' Alodar said, 'and I pledge to show it is well placed. When I can control the eye, I will use it most certainly to benefit the queen.'
Aeriel turned to look back at Alodar with a small smile. 'You have demonstrated your worth already, Alodar. Else I would not have striven to aid you when you petitioned in Ambrosia. I ask only that you serve her with your head as well as your heart. The latter is too frail an organ to use in affairs of state.'
'My motives are indeed from the heart,' Alodar admitted, 'although not in the way that you might think. But what of you? What draws you to such service of the queen?'
'It is apparent, is it not,' Aeriel replied, 'that Vendora never can be truly certain of counsel given her by any man? She has great need for someone to see through the emotion to the truth that lies underneath.'
'Then what is your reward for the service that you provide to the crown?' Alodar asked.
Aeriel rubbed her eyes and looked at the pile of documents. 'There are times indeed when I wonder why I travel the path I do. But my father served Vendora's as minister of most grave counsel. Alas, I was an only child. But I have tried to aid the crown of Procolon in the tradition of my family nonetheless. As for the drones who buzz about Vendora, enough of them seek her favor first through me that I have few idle hours in Ambrosia. Fortunately I am keen enough to see through their interests, so that I have not been greatly disappointed. And those who are not so dull, those who indeed might…'
Aeriel broke off and lowered her head with a touch of color in her cheeks.
'I tell too much,' she said. 'The petitioners who beset the fair lady concern me not at all. I am no longer
