by Terah Edun
Maree Amber, Head of the Companions’ Council, sat perfectly composed behind her large desk. A few objects sat on the desk, but for the most part it was blessedly empty. She gave Ciardis a pointed look over the wire-rimmed glasses perched on her nose.
Ciardis wasn’t paying the woman the least bit of attention. The beast in front of the desk sitting sedately, but Ciardis wasn’t fooled, had her full attention. She began focusing on controlling her breathing, trying not to hyperventilate, and edging backwards through the door as fast as she could. Reaching it after three tenuous backward steps she put her hand back to find the corner for the turn. What she found instead had her nearly swearing a blue streak. The way was blocked by a barrier. It felt like the wind barrier on the ship, but she wasn’t turning around to make sure.
She had to keep an eye on that monstrosity sitting in the middle of the room. It was practically salivating as it waited to attack her. It was covered in white fur and was easily the size of a horse. Pointed ears with tufts made of her think of a big cat, but its broad, curved tail and fluffy fur said it was a dog. Whatever it was, it’s long and powerful legs would enable it to reach her in a single bound.
She wasn’t fond of dogs or big cats. The former were mangy mutts with fleas and all manner of diseases. The latter were hunters that killed with impunity in the great forests of the North. She had some experience with big cats from her time in Vaneis. All the villagers had to some extent. The snow leopards there were so brazen that they’d been known to hunt the large oxen in the outlying farms and then kill the farmers who retaliated against them.
Looking at Ciardis with distaste, Maree Amber said, “Ranger, come.”
The dog...cat...thing obediently stood and came and sat next to her desk.
“Better, Miss Weathervane?” she said caustically.
“Not really,” said Ciardis.
“The dog is not leaving, so I suggest you take a seat.” Her tone brooked no argument.
Wishing she were anywhere but here, Ciardis sat as she was told. For a few moments they just stared at each other. One a young woman who wished she were napping in her room. The other an older woman, wondering if this petulant girl could really be the answer to their problems. Ciardis was everything that the Companions’ Guild wanted in its candidates: beautiful and talented. It was a guild of young men and women destined to serve as the partners of spoiled noble Patrons. For many of the companions the guild accepted into its halls, it was no more than that. But Crassius, for some reason, saw something more in this girl.
*****
He had seen past the soft and pretty, willful and obstinate exterior; apparently to a girl with some spine. Right now, to Maree Amber that spine seemed to be encased in sullenness.
Sitting back, Maree Amber knew it would take more than the usual to undo the damage done by rich food and a soft summer of parties and court functions. She needed to go from sullen girl to a warrior who could use her skills to fight. According to her portfolio she’d grown up in poverty; they would use that to their advantage. Strip her back to the basics.
With an inward smile Maree Amber knew what she had to. The girl would be going on a mission – a mission to Ameles. Perhaps after they completed their training in a few weeks.
Any other year Maree Amber would have told Crassius he was insane and to go out and find someone that wasn’t so soft. She would have turned a primped and finished Ciardis Weathervane out to pasture, found her a suitable, perhaps even Imperial, Patron and washed her hands of her.
But the girl’s powers stilled her hand. Unfortunately, they needed the Weathervane skills. The war in the North was only growing worse, and they were losing. The girl’s adventures with the Prince Heir in the Aether realm had only served to further incapacitate their side. That blasted elemental, the one called the Land Wight, had been subdued for a reason. Now it was loose and wreaking havoc on both sides of the battlefield, fiery infernos showing up at unknown times, cracks in the earth turning into chasms, and crops turning to dust for miles. Unfortunately, there was no one to control it—not even the emperor, and certainly not his son. Maree was just grateful the elemental was content to leave its meddling to the North for now.
But it wasn’t just the creature. Maree wished it were just that. The enemy on the other side of the northern barrier was growing stronger. They needed powerful mages to fight them. Maree wasn’t foolish or starry-eyed. She didn’t think Ciardis Weathervane was someone who could walk onto a battlefield and kill scores of soldiers. What she did think was that if the girl were properly trained and vetted, she could have the potential to be a part of the cohort they were amassing. If not, if they failed to train her...then other measures would be taken.
The idea of magically cauterizing the girl or killing her didn’t hold any appeal to Maree Amber. But she was practical. That practicality had earned her a seat on the Shadow Council. She was a Shadow member, through and through. And she would do what she had to in order to ensure that everything that was threatening her civilization would fall.
She focused back on the girl who now quietly fidgeted in her seat. Starting with her. It’s time for you to succeed or fail, Miss Weathervane.
“Have you ever been outside in the midst of a winter storm, Miss Weathervane?”
“Yes, many times, ma’am. I—”
“Yes or no is fine. What did you think of it?”
Not a yes or no question. “It was cold.”
Maree Amber cracked a smile. “I suspect it was frigid.”
*****
Ciardis lifted her head, wondering if she was being mocked. “But you’re right, cold is an apt description. It’s never nature’s intention to make you cold or uncomfortable. It’s just the way it was—natural. But nature has its limits, and those limits are broken when it comes to mages. Mages can manipulate anything and anyone. They manipulate people, objects, and the elements around them to their benefit. Do you manipulate those things to your benefit?”
“No.”
“You don’t think so? You didn’t push that mind reader’s talent over the summer? Just enough to spread his reach to a certain room? It exposed the Duke of Cinnis’s infidelities to the world and made his wife a laughing stock.”
Looking at Ciardis’s flaming face, she laughed softly. “Oh, I see. You think what you did was for the greater good?”
“It was!”
“You did what you thought was best?”
“Yes!”
“Without training, without supervision...”
“There was no one else.”
“There’s always someone else.”
“Of course.” She snarled it.
Maree Amber didn’t look as if she believed that Ciardis was agreed with her. She peered at her with a finger tapping on her desk occasionally.
Finally she said, “You have potential but it needs to be cultivated in service to the crown. Which will mean some sacrifices.”
Ciardis looked at her uncomprehending. “Sacrifices?” she said.
“You can’t be trusted amongst court officials for now,” said Maree Amber, “So I’ll ask you to stay away from the Imperial courts and I’m forbidding travel to the Aether realm.”
Pulling out a box Maree Amber held out a hand, “Give me the bracelet, Ciardis.”
Ciardis automatically clutched a hand over her wrist protectively. Her fingers hid a golden bracelet intricately designed with butterflies. What could the woman want with it?
“The other one. The bracelet that connects you to the Aether realm.”
“How did you...?”
Maree raised an eyebrow. “I’m the head of this guild. It’s my job to know.”
“It’s mine, given to me by my Patron, the Prince Heir.”
“I didn’t ask you for details on ownership, Miss Weathervane.”
Ciardis decided to try another tactic. “I need it to make sure—”
“Now,” the woman snapped.
Ciardis inhaled a calming breath. She care
fully took it off her ankle and held it out. All the while she was fighting the urge to hurl the bracelet in the woman’s face.
“I’m doing this for your own good,” Maree said as she locked the bracelet inside the small box, and secured it in her desk.
“As of now, you’re far too unstable to handle it.”
“Am I dismissed?”
“No,” she said.
“No?”
“No. Now, my dear, I think it’s time for your lessons to begin,” Maree Amber said as if she hadn’t just stolen Ciardis’s most prized possession.
Before Ciardis could think of anything to say, Maree said, “Ciardis, can you see what I’m holding?”
She was tempted to say “air,” but held back.
“Look deeper. Open your core.”
Ciardis gathered in her magic and prepared to drop down into her core.
“No, not like that. You’re taking too long. Perhaps we should start with basic rules about cores.”
Ciardis let loose her magic. “Too long?”
“You shouldn’t have to gather your magic and then drop into a spiral, which was what you were doing, just to activate your mage sight.”
“Oh?” she said hesitantly. “Then what should I be doing?”
Maree said, “Watch me. Watch my aura.” It began to shift and shimmer, the power gathering slowly under the surface until it pooled like silver light around her eyes.
“You can see my power, yes?”
Ciardis nodded in affirmation.
“What did you do to access that sight?”
“Nothing,” Ciardis answered truthfully. “Seeing power build has been something I could do since my powers came in.”
She grimaced. “At first it was everywhere. Now to see magic as it is in a settled form, I have to call my core.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Ciardis,” her instructor said. “You can call in your mage sight to see all forms of magic at any time without dipping into your core. You just have to build a reserve closer to the surface.”
“Give me your hands—we’re going to go into your core together. I will show you what I mean, but this is the only time you will allow another mage to draw from your core,” she said firmly. “It’s dangerous...more dangerous than you can imagine, Miss Weathervane. If another mage can successfully deplete your core, they can kill you. Your life force will dwindle and your body will die. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“All right, good.”
They grasped each other’s hands.
“Close your eyes and focus on moving down into your core. It doesn’t have to be fast. In fact, since I’m following you, it’s best to go slow.” Ciardis began the descent. She saw a tunnel of bright golden power leading down in a swirl to a bright ball of magic—her mage core. It wasn’t precisely in the same realm as her body, but she knew where it was and how to reach it instinctively.
“Do you see the wave of magic curves along the walls of the tunnel? Like a spiral?” Ciardis turned to find Maree Amber, awash in a purple glow, following along behind her.
“Yes, is that why it’s called spiraling?”
“Correct. A mage follows the trail their magic leaves along their core tunnel to reach the axis of their power seated in the ball at its center. The center being their mage core, and the tunnel being the magic taken from the core and used while the mage is in their corporeal form.”
Ciardis looked ahead. “We’re almost there.” And indeed they were. As they leveled their ethereal forms out to hover alongside outside the core, Maree said, “Now, Miss Weathervane, reach toward your core. Skim a tiny bit of magic from the outside.”
Ciardis moved her form forward and reached to grab magic from the core. It was a hasty attempt.
“Not like that. Slowly, until you have more practice. You don’t want too much or you’ll overwhelm yourself.”
She tried again, this time reaching out slowly, and, with dexterity, she grabbed just enough to satisfy Maree Amber. “Good, now let’s go back up. We’ll stop close to the outer edge and I’ll show you how to deposit what you’ve taken into a reserve.”
Ciardis felt herself begin to rise. This time she followed behind Maree Amber and it felt a lot faster. It was generally easier to go back up the tunnel than to travel down to the mage core. As they neared the edge, Maree Amber’s purple form stopped, an ethereal mass hovering just at the edge.
“Here, Ciardis, is where you’ll place your reserve. Take the core and push against the wall. And then you’re going to reach into the wall and grab small strings of power off of the tunnel. Wrap the reserve tightly. Now try.”
Ciardis hovered and moved up against the tunnel wall. It thrummed with power and beat with the rhythm of her heart. It was melodic in its intensity. She pushed the orb closer to the glowing wall. Holding it in place with one hand, she reached around and grabbed first one string of power, then a second, a third, a fourth, and finally a fifth string of power was wrapped around the reserve ball. It glowed, a sphere encased by a glowing, pulsing web holding it snugly against the tunnel.
“Very good, Ciardis. Now, when you draw from your power, you can draw from here instead of dropping deep into your core. It will get easier for you do and you’ll be able to tap a line of power from your core to your reserve to replenish it once you’re ready.”
Ciardis was surprised. “This is useful. I’m grateful.”
“Let’s go, then; we have work to do. Back to the regular realm.”
Chapter 16
“Tap into your mage sight,” was the command given as soon as Ciardis resurfaced. She hesitated then dipped back to her core. Before she’d been gone for even a few seconds, she saw the bright reserve laying just on the edge. Edging closer to it, Ciardis pushed a line of power from herself into the reserve. She felt the magic rise immediately.
“Good, Ciardis, now concentrate on holding on to the power and open your eyes.” Ciardis followed her command. Staring outward, she saw the glimmer of magic on her desk, in her clothes, and among the objects in the room.
“Where am I focusing my magic now, Ciardis?”
“Your eyes,” said Ciardis, seeing the flare of power centering on Maree Amber’s eyes. A shimmer of power had slid over her eyes like a veil.
“Now watch me.” Maree Amber’s magic rose in waves across her body until it came down slowly to center into a pool in her hands. She held her hands up. The pool of magic began to reshape itself into a web. The web began to twist and turn in on itself. The filaments of string multiplying and connecting until the surface of the web was smooth and the pattern was clear. A hazy image began to appear in the shape of a person.
“What do you see now, Ciardis?”
“A mirror,” she said hesitantly. “A mirror of power. It glimmers and moves as if it’s liquid.”
A satisfied smile entered the woman’s voice. “Very good.”
“Now,” she said softly, “reach forward. Cup your hands under mine as if you wish to hold the mirror yourself. Look into the mirror. Tell me what you see.”
Ciardis took a deep breath, exhaled, and did as she was asked. She looked inside. At first it was just a mirror, rippling like liquid, but still just a mirror.
“Look with your sight, Ciardis,” she said, her tone changing. “Not just your eyes.”
“Right,” she said, trying to change her perspective. Suddenly the mirror shifted; the glow moved to the center of the rippling water and disappeared inside. Images began to appear.
“What do you see?”
“Buildings, water, people...but nothing’s focusing.”
“Right—because I’ve introduced a limited amount of power into the mirror. I’m using my power only to scry and see images from afar. With our connection you can see what I can see. But there are limits on how much. Just as you would only be able to tap into any other mage’s power as much or as little as they would let you.”
Maree Amber slowly moved her cupped hands in a
circle, dissipating the images.
“This time I’ll call in more images with more power. Tell me what you see.”
Ciardis peered once more into her cupped hands. A winding street in the midst of Sandrin began to appear. Buildings that looked like they would topple over, and a dark red cobblestone pathway that had seen better days.
“The bookbinders’ district. I recognize the buildings.”
Maree Amber smiled.
“Yes, that is correct.” Slowly, she dropped her hands and let her power evaporate.
“You used your power to see what I saw, even to tap into what I saw,” she said with satisfaction. “But know this, Ciardis: You didn’t enhance what I did.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Do you see the difference?”
She nodded.
“Very well. That was the first test. Whether you could see the difference, and, more importantly, if you could do both. You did and you could.”
“Why couldn’t you just—”
“Ask? Have Crassius tell me? He did tell me. But sometimes it’s more important for the instructor to observe, and, most importantly, it was good for you to do it yourself.”
“Yes,” Maree said, tracing a finger on a globe on her desk, “You could be very useful to us.” Ciardis perked up a little at the praise.
Maree Amber smiled a cold smile and held up a warning finger, “But if you cannot be trained, if you do not wish to learn, you are a threat to everything we stand for, Ciardis. And we can’t have that.”
Ciardis wasn’t entirely sure Maree Amber was speaking of the Companions’ Guild in that moment. Her tone was far too deadly.
“I think that we’ve done enough for tonight,” Maree Amber said thoughtfully as she sat back at her desk. There was a gleam in her eye that Ciardis didn’t like, but if it got her out of her office that much faster, she wasn’t going to question it.
She stood up uncertainly and asked, “Tomorrow, then?”
“Tomorrow I have a meeting with an Imperial representative,” Maree Amber said pointedly.
As if Ciardis should know that.
Ciardis grimaced when she remembered why she was supposed to know such a small fact about the head of the guild’s schedule.