“Definitely not!” the University Director barked. He stepped forward, down between the rows of novices, and stopped by the timid Kyralian girl.
“Bina?”
The girl blinked prettily, then raised her head to gaze at the magician. His eyes bore into hers and she dropped her head quickly.
“Uh...” She paused, then brightened suddenly. “Goodness, my lord. How he or she uses magic.”
“No.” His tone was gentler. “Though a very important attribute and one we expect from all our magicians.”
Jerrik continued down the aisle. Sonea turned her head to watch him, but noticed that the other novices were staring rigidly at the front of the room. Feeling uneasy, she copied them, listening for the magician’s footsteps as he moved closer.
“Elayk?”
“Talent, my lord?” The boy’s Lonmar accent was strong.
“No.”
The footsteps grew closer. Sonea felt a tingling at the top of her spine. What would she say if he asked her? Surely all the possible answers had been offered already. She drew in a quiet breath and let it out slowly. He wouldn’t ask her anyway. She was the unimportant girl from the...
“Sonea?”
Her stomach lurched. Looking up, she saw Jerrik standing over her, his eyes growing chillier as she hesitated.
Then she knew the answer. It was easy. After all, she should know this better than any of the novices since she had nearly died when her own powers had grown uncontrollable. Jerrik knew this, which was probably why he had asked her.
“Control, my lord.”
“No.”
The magician sighed and moved to the front of the room. She stared at the grain of the wooden table before her, her face hot.
The University Director stopped in front of the desk and crossed his arms. He looked around the room again. The class waited, expectant and ashamed.
“The most important attribute of a magician is knowledge.” He paused, then looked at each of the novices who had spoken in turn. “Without it his strength is useless, he has nothing to be skilled or talented in, despite his best intentions.” The magician’s eyes flickered to Sonea. “Even if his powers surface of their own accord, he will soon be dead if he does not gain the
As one, the class let out a breath. A few faces turned toward Sonea briefly. Frozen by self-consciousness, she kept her eyes on her desk.
“The Guild is the largest and most comprehensive store of knowledge in the world,” Jerrik continued, a note of pride rising in his voice. “During the years that you spend here that knowledge, or at least some part of it, will be given to you. If you pay attention, listen to what your teachers tell you, and make use of the sources here such as the extensive library, you will excel. However,” his tone darkened, “if you do not pay attention, pay your elders respect or take advantage of the centuries of knowledge gathered by your predecessors, you will shame only yourselves. The years ahead of you will not be easy,” he warned. “You must be dedicated, disciplined and dutiful,” he paused and scanned the faces before him, “if you are to reach your full potential as magicians of the Guild.”
The atmosphere in the room had changed from relief to a new kind of tension. The novices were so quiet that Sonea could hear them breathing. Jerrik straightened and put his hands behind his back.
“You are probably aware,” he said in a milder tone, “of the Three Levels of Control that are the foundation of your university education. The First, unlocking your power, you will achieve today. The Second, the ability to access, draw, and contain your power, will be your aim for the rest of this morning, and every morning, until you can achieve all three without thinking. The Third, grasping the many ways that power can be used, will be taught to you in the years between now and your graduation - though, regardless of which discipline you choose to specialize in after graduation, there will be no point at which you will have completed the Third Level. Once you have graduated, it will be up to you to expand upon the knowledge we have given you, but you will, of course, never know all there is to know.” He smiled thinly.
“The Guild holds more knowledge than you could absorb in a lifetime, probably more than you could learn in five lifetimes. We have the three disciplines of Healing, Alchemy and Warrior Skills. So that you may learn enough of one to become a useful and accomplished magician, your teachers, and those before them, have gleaned what information is most relevant and important to give to you.” He lifted his chin slightly. “Use this knowledge well, novices of the Magicians’ Guild of Kyralia.”
He cast his eyes over the classroom once more, then turned and, with a nod to Lord Elben, left the room.
The class was still and quiet. The teacher remained motionless, noting the expressions on the faces of his charges with a smile of satisfaction. Then he stepped around to the front of the large table and addressed them.
“Your first lesson in Control begins now. Each of you has been designated a teacher for this lesson. You will find them waiting for you next door. Rise and make your way to this room now.”
Chairs scraped on the wooden floor as the novices got eagerly to their feet. Sonea rose slowly. The teacher’s head turned and he regarded her coldly.
“Except you, Sonea,” he added, belatedly. “You will remain here.”
This time all of the novices turned to stare at her. She blinked from one face to another, feeling strangely guilty as understanding dawned in their eyes.
“Go on,” urged the teacher. The novices turned away. Sonea lowered herself back into her chair and watched the class file out. Only one turned to glance at her again before he stepped through the door. His lips curled up in a sneer. Regin.
“Sonea.”
She jumped and turned to stare at the teacher, surprised that he was still there.
“Yes, my lord.”
His eyes lost a little of their chilliness and he moved across the room to stand beside her seat. “As you have already achieved the First and Second Levels of Control, I have brought you the first book the class will study.” Sonea lowered her eyes to a small paper-covered book he held in his hand. “There will be practical exercises to go with the book, but they will involve all of the class. You will still gain much from studying the information in this.”
He placed the book on the table and turned away.
“Thank you, Lord Elben,” she said to his back.
He paused and turned to regard her with mild surprise, then continued to the door.
The room was empty and silent after he had gone. Sonea looked around at the other desks and chairs. She counted nine crooked seats.
She looked at the book on her desk and read: Six Lessons for New Novices, by Lord Liden, and a date. The book was over a century old. How many novices had worked their way through these exercises? She flicked through the pages. The script, she saw with relief, was clear and easy to read.
Magic is a useful art, but not without limitations. A magician’s natural area of influence lies within his or her body, the skin being the boundary of this area. Minimal effort is required to influence magic within this space. No other magician may influence this space, unless he or she is Healing, which requires skin to skin contact.
To influence what lies beyond the body, more effort is required. The farther away the object to be influenced is from the body, the more effort is required. The same limitation is true of mental communication, though it is not as taxing as most magical tasks.
Rothen had told her as much, but she continued reading. Some time later, after she had read three of the lessons and was beginning on the fourth, two novices returned to the room. The first she recognized as Gennyl, the half-Lonmar boy who had gained a guardian during the ceremony. His companion was the other tall Lonmar boy. They glanced at her once as they moved to seats halfway down the classroom. She could sense a difference about them, as if their presence was amplified. She guessed this meant their powers had been released. They would soon
